The Epistle to the Romans
By Charles R Erdman
Chapter 1
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I. THE INTRODUCTION. Rom. 1:1-17 A. THE SALUTATION. Ch. 1:1-7
It required real genius so to
phrase an opening salutation as
to embody the substance of the
epistle which followed. Such
salutations were commonly mere
conventional forms, like those
with which modern letters are
begun and ended; they designated
the writer and the reader and
included some word of greeting;
Paul, however, used the
opportunity to declare his
authority as an apostle, to
describe the Christians in Rome,
and to define the gospel of
which he was about to write. As to himself, he said that he
was "a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of
God." These terms express
startling claims, yet they imply
privileges which belong to all
who preach the good news, and
even to all who are followers of
Christ.
"A servant of Jesus Christ" is
parallel to the Old Testament
phrase, "a servant of Jehovah,"
and may intimate that Paul
ventured to put himself in the
place of the prophets and
leaders of the Old Dispensation,
while in a connection hitherto
reserved for that of "Jehovah"
he substituted the name of his
Master, "Jesus Christ." At least it is certain that Paul
indicated here his complete
submission to his Lord. The word
"servant" means a "slave," a "bond servant." By
its use Paul intimated that he
had been purchased by his
Master, and that he was
surrendered wholly to his will.
Such should be the relation to Christ realized
by every one of his followers.
It should be the complete
submission and loving service of
one who has been "bought with a
price" and who "will not go out
free."
The sphere of Paul's willing
service was that of the
apostleship. He did not number
himself among the original
Twelve, but he placed himself
upon an equality with them and
claimed all their high powers
and privileges. Particularly, he
insisted upon his apostolic
authority. He declared that he
was "called to be an apostle"
or, more exactly, he was an
apostle in consequence of a
call. He may have had in mind the
eternal purpose of God, or, quite
as probably, the summons
received from his risen Lord on
the way to Damascus, or his
subsequent commission to
world-wide service. Surely Paul
was ever sustained by the
consdousness of a divine call;
and in some real sense all who
submit to the will of Christ may
believe that he has a purpose in their
experiences and in their tasks,
and thus they may be patient to
suffer and strong to serve. As an "apostle" or messenger of
Christ, Paul believed he had
been intrusted with a special
message, namely, "the gospel."
He said that he had been
"separated unto" this gospel;
its proclamation was his sole
task; "this one thing" and this
alone he felt himself set aside
to do, and his matchless success
as a messenger of Christ has
been, through all the Christian
centuries, an inspiring example
of concentration in effort and
singleness of aim. The word "gospel" means "good
news" or "glad tidings"; and
Paul has described it as "the
gospel of God." That is, it has
its source or origin in God; it
is not an invention of man; it
is a revelation, heavenly,
glorious, divine. This gospel God had" promised
afore through his prophets in
the holy scriptures"; they were
"his prophets" and therefore
guided, directed, inspired by
him. Their writings were "holy"
because of their origin, their
character, and their content. In these
"scriptures," now known as the
Old Testament, the gospel was
contained in type and symbol and
prophecy; they foretold the
great redemptive facts which
were to form the substance of
the gospel message. Thus Paul not only introduced
the theme of his epistle, but he
outlined its main thought,
namely that the good news of
salvation by faith is no
innovation, and that
Christianity is not a
contradiction of Judaism but its
completion, its fulfillment, its
climax. The predicted Messiah of
the Old Testament is the Christ
of the New; the Servant of
Jehovah whom the prophets
predicted is the Son of God whom
the apostles preached. Thus Paul declared that"
the gospel of God" was"
concerning his Son," who is
described as "born of the seed
of David according to the
flesh"; that is, in relation to
the human race, in his-physical
being, in his earthly
manifestation, he was of
princely and royal lineage, even
a son of Israel's greatest king,
from whom the Messiah was
promised to come; but, in his
essential life, in his spirit of
perfect and divine holiness, he
"was declared to be the Son of
God" by an act of supernatural
power, namely, "by the
resurrection from the dead," a
resurrection which is so
described as possibly to
indicate that it is the pledge
and assurance of the
resurrection of those who put
their trust in him, for the
phrase might be translated, "By
the resurrection of the dead."
In any case, Paul declared that
the essence and sum and substance
of the gospel is found in "Jesus
Christ our Lord," in Jesus, the
Messiah of the Jew, the Lord of
the Christians. Thus in a very real sense it is
true that "Christianity is
Christ." Unlike the Mohammedan
or the Buddhist or the adherent
of any other faith, the
Christian centers his religion
in the person and work and
present power of his divine and
loving Lord. It was from this
risen Lord, Paul declared, that
he himself had received sav1ng
grace, and the further favor of
being appointed as a chosen
apostle and messenger with a
view to securing among all
nations, among Gentiles as well
as among Jews, that obedience
and devotion to Christ which are
of the very essence of faith. As the ultimate purpose of the
gospel and of Paul's apostleship
was to make more fully known the
grace and glory and power of
Christ, it was all "for his
name's sake." The readers to whom this
epistle, with its exposition of
the gospel, is being written,
are described as residents of
Rome and as belonging to the
Gentile nations rather than to
the Jews. This, however, does
not mean that there were no Jews
among them; in fact, Jewish
converts must have formed a
large element in the church;
and throughout the whole epistle
the Jew is constantly in mind. However, whether Jews or
Gentiles, all are comprehended
in three luminous phrases.
First, they are" called to be
Jesus Christ's," that is, they
belong to him and are his in
response to a call. This call
was quite as real and as sacred
as that by which Paul was
summoned to his apostolic
service. Second, they arc
"beloved of God" as those who
have been shown his saving mercy
and have been brought into
living fellowship with him
through Jesus Christ. Third,
they are "called to be saints";
that is, they are saints as a
result of the divine call which
made them followers and servants
of Christ. The word "saints"
denotes those who are separated
from sin and separated unto God.
They belong to God, like Israel
of old, as his own peculiar
people. They should feel
obligated, therefore, to lives
in keeping with such a high
calling; they "should be holy"
as he who has called them is
holy. Thus, "saints" is a term
which expresses an ideal. In the
New Testament, individual
Christians are not called
"saints." It is a word employed
to denote c9mmunities of
believers or the whole body of
Christians, redeemed,
sanctified, and expected to grow
into the likeness of their Lord
and Master. To such believers Paul sent his
usual salutation: "Grace to you
and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Grace is the source and peace
the essence of that blessedness
which believers enjoy. "Grace"
was the common salutation among
the Greeks, and "Peace" among
the Jews; Paul combined them and
deepened their meaning as he
adopted them as his usual form
of Christian greeting. "Grace"
denotes the unmerited favor of
God, and "Peace," both harmony with
God and the peace of soul which
ensues. This blessedness is
bestowed by God himself whom, as
Christians, we have learned to
call "our Father," and from
Jesus Christ whom, as the
connection of words denotes, we
have come to regard as one with
the Father, our divine Saviour
and Lord.
B. THE INTEREST OF PAUL IN" THE
ROMAN CHRISTIANS. Ch. 1:8-15
8 First, I thank my God through
Jesus Christ for you all, that
your faith is proclaimed
throughout the whole world. 9
For God is my witness, whom I
serve in my spirit in the gospel
of his on, how unceasingly I
make mention of you, always in
my prayers 10 making request, if
by any means now at length I may
be prospered by the will of God
to come unto you. 11 For I long
to see you, that I may impart
unto you some spiritual gift, to
the end ye may be established;
12 that is, that I with you may
be comforted in you, each of us
by the other's faith, both yours
and mine. 13 And I would not
have you ignorant, brethren,
that oftentimes I purposed to
come unto you (and was hindered
hitherto), that I might have
some fruit in you also, even as
in the rest of the Gentiles. 14
I am debtor both to Greeks and
to Barbarians, both to the wise
and to the foolish. 15 So, as
much as in me is, I am ready to
preach the gospel to you also
that are in Rome.
In beginning his epistles, Paul
usually added to the formal
salutation a thanksgiving and a
prayer. Both of these are found
here, and both of them express
the intense interest felt by
Paul in the Christians at Rome
to whom the letter is addressed,
an interest which deepened his
desire to preach the gospel of
Christ in the great central city
of the world. "First, I thank my
God "even to detach this
phrase is to state a precious
truth. "First, I thank my God
"-and when one thus begins a
letter, a day, a prayer, the
bitterness disappears, the
clouds drift away, the burden is
gone. "I thank my God through
Jesus Christ," writes the
apostle, for it is only in
virtue of Jesus Christ, in view
of all he is as the divine
Mediator and as the Way to the
Father, that one draws near to
God in thanksgiving and prayer,
and enjoys that holy intimacy
expressed by Paul when he uses
the phrase "my God." Such a
sense of personal fellowship,
such a consciousness of the love
of God toward us as individuals
should be experienced by all who
come unto God "through Jesus
Christ." The reason why Paul returns
thanks is the fact that wherever
he goes throughout the empire
or, as he says, "throughout the
whole world," word reaches him
concerning the faith of the
believers in Rome, and
concerning the wide influence
they are exerting; for while it
is always a joy to a Christian
worker to learn of the progress
of the gospel in distant lands,
that joy is particularly great
when the tidings relate to
missionary success in such a
strategic center as that of the
capital city. Paul rejoices in such tidings
from the Roman Christians
because they are continually in
his thoughts, his plans, and his
prayers. The One who can attest
this interest is God himself, to
whom Paul renders service with
the spiritual adoration of a
worshiper, a service which finds
its outward expression in his
proclamation of the gospel of
the Son of God. The chief burden of his
ceaseless prayer, as Paul
declares, is the request that soon, after
many previous delays, the Lord
will make it possible for him to
visit these friends in Rome.
Paul docs not hesitate to make
specific petitions for definite
objects; yet, as here, he
accompanies the request by the
submissive "if" of Christian
faith, "if" it maybe "the will
of God." . How earnestly he desires to
visit this infant church is
expressed by the words, "I long
to see you," I am heartsick with
yearning, I am heartsick at
delay. It is this longing which
has made him pray so
continually, and this longing
has been caused by his desire to
impart to those believers "some
spiritual gift "-that is, some
new development of spiritual
life and light, some fuller
understanding of the truth, some
larger apprehension of the grace
that is in Christ Jesus, "to the
end" that in their Christian
faith and hope they more fully
"may be established." However, Paul at once adds, with
equal delicacy and tact and sincerity, that he
yearns for such a visit not only
because of the good he would
give but also because of the
good he would receive, because
he would be "comforted" by their
mutual faith. He realized what every minister of Christ has
found true, that m 1mpartmg
spiritual gifts of comfort and guidance and hope
one's own soul is immeasurably
enriched. That the Romans themselves had
been expecting such a visit,
this whole section implies. That
an explanation was due them for
a further delay seems also to be
indicated. They lived in the
capital of the Gentile world;
Paul was the official apostle to
the Gentiles; once before he had
come as far west as Corinth and
had failed to pass on to Rome;
now again he was at the Greek
metropolis and was turning back
toward the East with a gift for
the Jewish believers in
Jerusalem; surely some message
must be sent to the Roman
Christians, some explanation
must be given for a further
delay in visiting them. Therefore Paul employs one of
his most emphatic and
characteristic phrases to
introduce the statement that
this delay is due to no lack of
desire on his part:" I would not
have you ignorant, brethren,"
writes Paul to make the
following words more impressive,
"oftentimes I purposed to come
unto you (and was hindered
hitherto)." His purpose had been
steadfast, but circumstances
were beyond his control. Duties
may not conflict, but desires
for service often do. He really
yearned to "have some fruit"
among these Roman Christians, to
serve them and others through
them, quite as much as among
other Gentiles; and he had
formed a very definite plan of
visiting Rome and of passing on
through Rome far westward to
Spain. Ultimately his desire and
theirs was fulfilled; finally he
did reach the imperial city, but
in a way quite different from
his plan; he came not as a free
herald of the truth, passing
triumphantly on to new fields of
service, but as a prisoner,
bound with chains, to answer for
his life before the judgment
seat of Caesar. His path lay
through tumult and prison and
storm and shipwreck; yet this
was the way of Providence; it
was thus that his own purpose
was fulfilled, according to the
will of God.
How earnest that purpose was, he
now states with something of vehemence. His desire
to come to Rome is not merely to
impart a gift; it is actually to
pay a debt: "I am debtor both to
Greeks and to Barbarians, both
to the wise and to the foolish."
By the term "Greeks" was denoted all those peoples who, like the
Greek and Roman, understood the
language and shared the
civilization commonly classed as
Hellenic or Greek, and were
contrasted with the
comparatively uncivilized
peoples and tongues outside the
molding influence of the
"Greek." By the "wise" were
meant those inner circles of the
educated and cultured who were
familiar with the literature and
philosophy of the day, in
contrast with the great
"unthinking" masses who because
of their ignorance and lade of
education would be despised by
the cultured classes of the
Roman world. Paul meant to
affirm that he felt under a
solemn obligation to give to men
of all races and classes and
degrees of culture the gospel
which had been committed to him
as a sacred trust. Nor should any
Christian look out upon the
peoples of the world in any
other light. Those unnumbered
millions whom we call "heathen"
or "pagan" or "Christless" are
our creditors and to them we owe
the glorious gospel which God
has intrusted to us. To proclaim
this gospel in all the world and
to every creature is not a
matter of sentiment or of
choice; it is a moral
obligation; it is a sacred duty. Under the solemn compulsion of
such a debt Paul declares: "So,
as much as in me is, I am ready
to preach the gospel to you also
that are in Rome." He is saying
that he is ready, he is
prepared, he is eager; if there
is any delay it is no fault of
his, no lack of desire on his
part, but it is due to his
circumstances and not to his
choice. For the present, God had
for Paul other fields of labor,
but the delay was wisely
ordered; it resulted in the
writing of this epistle, which
has been called "the chief book
of the New Testament and the
perfect gospel."
C. THE THEME OF THE EPISTLE. Ch.
1:16, 17
16 For I am not ashamed of the
gospel: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one
that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek. 17
For therein is revealed a
righteousness of God from faith
unto faith: as it is written, But
the righteous shall live by
faith.
In beginning his letter Paul has
been assuring his readers, the
Christians at Rome, of his deep
interest in them and of his
earnest desire to visit them and
to preach among them the gospel
of Christ. He now states the
supreme source of this desire.
It is found in his love for the
gospel and in his confidence in
its saving power. "I am not ashamed of the
gospel," writes the apostle, and
possibly he means that he is
proud of the gospel. A negative
statement is sometimes the most
emphatic way of expressing an
implied opposite, as for
instance "not far from the
kingdom" means "very near to the
kingdom" and" no mean city"
denotes a famous and prominent
city. So here, when Paul writes
that he is "not ashamed of the
gospel" he may intend to say
that he rejoices in the gospel
and glories in the gospel. On the other hand, there were
reasons why the gospel might
have been regarded as a cause of
shame. Paul remembered how he
had suffered for the gospel at
Ephesus and at Philippi and at
Corinth. He knew how foolish, to
the wise men of the world,
seemed that story of salvation
through faith in a crucified
Christ; and now, because of his
long delay in proclaiming that
message in mighty Rome, the
center and symbol of imperial
power and pomp and pride, it
might be supposed that his delay
was due to timidity or fear lest
the gospel might seem to be an
impotent and ineffectual thing
in that great capital where all
the forces of the world were
centered and combined. On the contrary, Paul declares
that he is not ashamed of that
gospel. Whatever may have
occasioned his delay in visiting
Rome, it has not been due to any
fear on his part. He does realize the
difficulties of the situation
and the obstacles which will
oppose him; his purpose is no
jaunty and light-hearted plan of
adventure; nevertheless he has
no fear, no reluctance, no
shame. He knows that the gospel
is "the power of God unto
salvation." Thus, whether his statement that
he is" not ashamed of the
gospel" expressed Paul's pride
or his lack of shame, in either
case it serves to introduce the
great theme of his epistle,
namely, "the gospel" as "the
power of God unto salvation,"
the revelation of the
"righteousness" which is "by
faith." The gospel is thus defined in
terms of "power"; it can do
something; it is not a mere
ornament, not simply a pleasing
story, not only an interesting
system of philosophy. It is "the power of God";
it can therefore do anything. It
is "the power of God unto
salvation"; it can therefore do
everything the human soul needs
for time and for eternity. It is
"to every one that
believeth";
it can do everything that is
needed for everyone. Thus Paul states the nature, the
result, the freeness, and the
universality of the gospel. It
is designed to bring salvation
to everyone who believes in
Christ. This last idea Paul
emphasizes by adding "to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek."
Here the term Greek is intended
to denote the whole Gentile
world in contrast with the Jew.
Salvation is proclaimed for the
Jew "first," not only in time,
but by way of eminence. The
Scriptures are his, the promises
are his, the Christ is his
"according to the flesh."
However, no Jew can be saved
aside from faith in Christ, and
by faith in Christ any Gentile
can be saved. This familiar but
inexhaustible word "salvation"
may be interpreted in terms of
deliverance from sin, or of new
spiritual life and soundness of
soul. It denotes deliverance
from the guilt of sin, granted
to those who are "justified";
and deliverance from the power
of sin, experienced by those who
are being "sanctified'' ; and
deliverance from the very
presence and results of sin,
enjoyed by those who ate
glorified. Thus "salvation" may
be regarded as past or present
or future; in the first aspect,
this theme is expanded in the
opening five chapters of this
letter. In the second and third aspects, it is developed
in the sixth and seventh and
eighth chapters. However, as a
life of holiness and service,
"salvation" is set forth in the
closing or "practical" portion
of the epistle. Thus in the
widest use of the term,
"salvation" may be interpreted
to include all that a believer
receives through faith in
Christ, from the time he is
pardoned as a penitent sinner
until he realizes his fullest
blessedness in eternal glory. Paul further explains that the
power of the gospel is due to
the fact that "therein is
revealed a righteousness of God
from faith unto faith." One may
note the importance to the
argument of the little word
"for." Paul desires to preach in
Rome "for" he is not ashamed of
the gospel; and he is not
ashamed of the gospel "for" it
is "the power of God"; and it is
the power of God "for" it
reveals "a righteousness of God"
which is "from faith unto
faith." The phrase II
righteousness of God" as used in
this particular verse does not
refer to God's justice or to any
of his attributes; nor yet does
it denote the moral character
wrought in man by the Spirit of
God, but rather that right
relation to the requirements of
divine law which God provides
for those who trust in Christ.
It signifies the acceptance
granted to sinful man by a holy
God. It is provided in and
through Christ, and denotes
God's way of justifying the
unrighteous, God's method of
liberating his love while vindicating his
law. As an old Puritan quaintly
defined it, "The righteousness
of God is that righteousness
which God's righteousness
requires him to require"; that
is, an infinitely holy God can
require of man nothing less than
perfect righteousness, but as
man cannot attain this by
himself, God provides it for him
through faith in Christ. Or, as
another has expressed it, 11 The
righteousness of God is the sum
total of all that God commands,
demands, approves, and himself
provides through Jesus Christ." God is therefore the Source, or
the Giver, of this
righteousness; man cannot attain
or achieve it; he accepts it as
a free gift by faith alone. It
is "a righteousness of God from
faith unto faith"; that is, it
is of faith, first and last and
wholly. However, faith is not the mere
intellectual acceptance of a
truth; it expresses a relation
to a divine Person, an attitude
of trust and submission and
love. That such an attitude of
heart and mind brings one into
right relation to God is no new
truth. "Justification by faith"
has been always the divine way
of dealing with man, and
therefore to attest the
correctness of his great theme
and to show the Jew that the
gospel is in perfect accord with
the teachings of the Old
Testament, Paul closes with a
familiar quotation from
Habakkuk: "But the righteous
shall live by faith." The old patriot and
prophet whose words are thus
quoted was pleading with Judah
to trust in Jehovah and to obey
him; and Paul intimates that the
principle involved is permanent.
The condition of receiving
divine help is the same to-day
as it was of old. The only hope
for the men of Judah was to live
by faith; and so, since God has
revealed his redeeming love in
Jesus Christ, the one who puts
his trust in that Saviour is
accepted of God, he possesses
the "righteousness of God," he
is justified by faith; for "the
righteous shall live by faith." No wonder that Paul was eager to
preach a gospel which revealed
so gloriously God's way of
salvation, and ľo wonder that
the expansion of this theme
resulted in what may be regarded
as the masterpiece among all his
epistles.
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