Scripture Daily

Context No. 2503 of 4322 · Romans

Context · Reflection

Romans 1:1-7: in context

1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God, 2which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name’s sake; 6among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul opens his letter to Rome by naming what the gospel is about, and it is not first a system or a set of rules. It is, he says, the good news of God concerning his Son, promised beforehand in the Scriptures, descended from David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. The whole message has a name and a face.

It is worth sitting with how personal this is. The gospel is concerning his Son. Before it is a plan of salvation or a code of ethics, it is news about a particular person, fully human as David's descendant, and shown to be the Son of God when God raised him from the dead. Faith, then, is not mainly agreement with ideas; it is attachment to him. When my Christianity drifts into abstractions, principles, causes, opinions, Paul's opening pulls it back to its center: a living person, Jesus, whom the whole of Scripture was pointing toward.

Is my faith centered on a living person, Jesus, or has it drifted into ideas and rules with him somewhere in the background?

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