Firm Foundations

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Firm Foundations
Romans 1:1-17

As we read in the last Bible study, Paul shifted his focus of missions to the Gentiles.  While he never really gives up on Jews, his target is now towards the Gentiles in the eastern Mediterranean , primarily between present-day Israel to present-day Turkey .  However, when he begins the book of Romans, Paul has a bigger audience in mind.

Say the word Romans.  What images come to mind?  Images of a powerful empire, of a mighty army flash across our imaginations.  The leader of the world to all who lived during that time period, Rome was the center of government, law, culture, power, strength, and learning.  Paul had a big dream, he had a higher calling, he wanted to, even longed to bring the news of the most powerful empire known to humankind.  What an interesting life goal for a man who had never seen a Roman in his life when he wrote this.

What foundations does Paul lay down right away in the first seven verses of Romans?  He makes it very clear that his calling is because of Christ and God’s mercy.  He also identifies the entire Trinity and how each works and manifests itself.  In essence, these are the fundamentals of Christianity that Paul lays claim to immediately.  Take a look at your own faith.  Do you make exceptions to the rule or do you stand firm on the fundamentals?

Key in on verse 9 “God, who I serve with whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son…”  Does Paul go out and half-heartedly say a few words about how great God is then retreat back into his group of Christians?  Do great generals go into battle to barely poke the enemy and then retreat back to the stronghold?  This is a nice reminder for when we are in the ministry field.

Now let’s take it further a step.  Not only should we serve with our whole heart, Paul tells us to be “not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone…” (verse 16).  Can a person serve God with their whole heart and still be ashamed of the gospel?  This leads to another question: can a person who’s ashamed of what they believe in serve God with their whole heart?  Notice that Paul talks about the power of God again in this verse.  How often do we see God’s power at work in today’s world?  Is it a matter of the God not revealing it, our own spiritual blindness to it, or a matter of faith?  Do we believe that God can still perform miracles in today’s world?

Now backtrack to verses 8-13.  Paul lists the integral parts of living the Christian life.  In verse 8 there is praise and worship, in verse 9 Paul talks about serving God and foundation in the Word, in 10 he touches upon prayer, in 11 sharing, in 12 Paul writes of encouragement through meeting with other Christians, and in 13 team evangelism.  So how does one connect all of these (remember in a previous lesson how we did a foundational hierarchy with knowledge coming before wisdom before power?)?  Well, we start with the basics of Christian living – prayer, reading the Word, and quiet time with God.  From there we understand praise and worship, serving God, and sharing our faith.  And beyond that, as we mature in faith, we learn to encourage and build up one another, team outreach, and personal ministry.  (Each aspect will be covered in future lessons.)