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August 3 Paul, his conversion, his call, his trip to Rome, his letter to the Romans Acts 26:12-18; Romans
1:1-17 see Romans Map to Heaven flier (small yellow). Communion.
Children: Paul’s conversion experience.
Today is the Sunday that marks the half-way point in our reading through the New
Testament. This week we finish Acts and then begin the book of Romans. Acts finishes with Paul in
Rome awaiting trial and still witnessing to everyone he can. Acts concludes with the sense that the
mission is ongoing, that the church continues to preach Jesus Christ.
We will see a lot of Paul over the next several weeks. Paul was an amazing man. He was
zealous for God both as a Pharisee and as an Apostle. Half of the book of Acts has involved him.
Paul was willing to give his all. Last week we read of his conversion experience on the road to
Damascus and his involvement with the church in Antioch. We’ve read of his first three missionary
journeys and this week he is bound for Rome. That trip is also known as his fourth missionary
journey. Paul was willing to endure trials and difficulties to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
After Acts, we begin Romans. The book itself begins with, “From Paul, a slave of Christ
Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s good news.” (CEB) The words “From Paul”
are the first two words of Romans, and they are also the first words of 1 Cor, 2 Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil,
Col, 1 Thes, 2 Thes, 1 Tim, 2 Tim, Titus, and Philemon. That is 13 Pauline Epistles, where an epistle
is a formal, instructive letter. 13 of the 27 books which make up the New Testament begin with
“From Paul”.
The book of Romans follows Acts, but it does not follow Acts chronologically. Romans was
written by Paul to the church in Rome before he ever came to Rome. So Romans was written before
Paul even knew the people he was writing to and that gives it a very different style than all his other
letters. The book of Romans is a summary of his understanding of the gospel and Jesus Christ for
the believers in Rome, not a letter dealing with specific issues and questions the churches or people
he knew were grappling with. As such, it offers a great overview of Christianity and is considered
one of the most important books in the New Testament. Augustine, Martin Luther, and John
Wesley were all converted as they read this powerful explanation of our need and God’s solution. As
for myself, in my twenties I disliked the book of Romans.
In Sunday school classes or Bible studies we would discuss what book to read next and I
would say “Any book but Romans.” My rationale was that it is a difficult book and that is true.
Romans is written in a formal, argumentative style. There are big words and run-on sentences and
sometimes Paul says things just to tear them apart so you really have to pay attention. But the main
difficulty with Romans is that when you figure out what Paul is saying you are forced to grapple with
the idea that you and I are sinners, that we are unrighteous and that we deserve nothing but
punishment from God. That is a hard truth. Many do not like Romans because they do not like what
Paul says about us and our fallen condition.
But it does not leave us hanging in that condemned state. It clearly gives the solution to our
problem. If we will accept our need for a personal relationship with Jesus, God’s grace covers our
sin. Romans became my favorite book when I stopped thinking I deserved salvation or that God
owed me anything. It became my favorite book when I accepted the grace of God found in Jesus
Christ as the source of all hope and assurance.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote in his Explanatory Notes Upon the New
Testament, that Paul had two chief designs in Romans. First to show “that neither the Gentiles by
the law of nature, nor the Jews by the law of Moses, could obtain justification before God; and that
therefore it was necessary for both to seek [justification] from the free mercy of God by faith.”
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Justification means being made right with God. We cannot rely on who we are to command God’s
respect; we rely totally on God’s mercy. Some think that because God created us, God will overlook
whatever we do. Paul says no. Some think that following rules like going to church and being nice to
some people will save us or being from a good Christian family. Paul says no. Neither who we are
nor what we do will justify us.
The second design Wesley saw was to show “that God has an absolute right to show mercy
on what terms He pleases, and to withhold it from those who will not accept it on [God’s] own
terms.” (Wesley, 514). We are all sinners but the good news is that God, through Jesus Christ, has
given us the solution, but the solution is only for those who accept it.
This line of reasoning that who we are and what we have done will not save us comes from a
man who was as Zealous a Jew as you could find anywhere. If anyone dedicated himself to serving
God, it was Saul the Pharisee. Our first reading today had Paul retelling his conversion experience
while on trial before King Agrippa and the Roman governor Porcius Festus. In it we are reminded
of how Paul dedicated himself to serving God by opposing Jesus until he was confronted by the
risen Jesus himself. Then Paul understood himself as the chief of all sinners, and from that position
he points us to the grace of God received through believing in Jesus Christ.
Paul does not write his letter to the church in Rome from a position of superiority. He
introduces himself as a slave of Christ Jesus. He clearly sets Jesus Christ as the focal point of the
good news and offers a powerful summary of the gospel: “I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is
God’s own power for salvation to all who have faith in God, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
God’s righteousness is being revealed in the gospel.” The message of Jesus Christ is the power that
changes everything.
The book of Romans has a fairly clear structure as Paul works through his argument. We
have an introduction and a conclusion and the middle consists of three main parts. First is the
problem of sin, followed by the solution God has provided to this problem, and finally the practical
application of how those who believe are then to live in this new freedom. Our reading this week
will only take us through the first eight chapters, but that will be enough to see the problem
expounded and the solution presented.
The first three chapters address the problem of sin: all people are unrighteous compared to
the righteousness of God. Look it up with me if you like. There is nothing like seeing it for yourself.
Romans 3:10-12 “There is no righteous person, not even one. There is no one who understands.
There is no one who looks for God. They have all turned away. They have become worthless
together. There is no one who shows kindness. There is not even one.” [Greek vs. Gentile, all nonJews]
Paul is working on a basic question, “Are you right with God?” Every person has to
consider this as they consider their humanity. If you died today, and heaven exists, on what grounds
would you expect to go to heaven? There is a song that jumps to mind when I think about that
question; “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” (UMH 362)
Paul continues to hammer on this theme in Romans 3:23 as he writes, “For all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.” Everyone is in the same predicament. But in that same
paragraph he has already begun to offer God’s solution. “now God’s righteousness has been
revealed apart from the law” (3:21) Faith in God is the solution.
The problem is sin and the death that follows. Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
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Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
The solution is summarized in Romans 10:9-13 “Because if you confess with your mouth
‘Jesus is Lord:’ and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to
salvation. The scripture says, ‘All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame.’ There is no
distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all who gives richly to all who
call on him. All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.”
Recap: Romans 3:10-12 tells us no one is righteous. Romans 3:23 tells us all have sinned.
Romans 5:12 reminds us that sin yields death. Romans 6:23 tells us the gift of God is eternal life.
And Romans 10 offers a simple formula, if you confess with your mouth, and believe in your heart,
you will be saved. Paul does a lot of extra explaining but the basic message is so critical to our
understanding what God has done to answer our need.
The book of Romans is some heavy sledding or a tough row to hoe. It takes work to get
through it. It is an intellectual challenge and it is an offensive and personal challenge because it
directly confronts our pride in the idea that we are good people.
Romans shines the light of truth on our pride and self-esteem. It compares our
righteousness to God’s standard of righteousness and finds us wanting. But Paul does this to wake
us from our complacency to help us see our need. Paul’s purpose is to show us not just the problem,
but the solution God has provided. God’s righteousness has been revealed in Jesus Christ. God’s
grace is freely offered to us if we will stop defending ourselves and throw everything on Jesus. All
our hopes and fears, all our burdens and questions, all our sin and despair, Jesus has taken it all to
the cross. Jesus shows us the love of God. This good news is the power for the salvation of all who
have faith in God, for all who believe in Jesus. There is only one obvious question left, Will you set
aside your pride and accept him as Savior and Lord? Can you accept God’s forgiveness and realize
the purpose for which he has appointed you?