2022_07_04 Insight Post- Kim Feld

  -   July 4, 2022

This week’s reading- Romans 1-2

Happy 4^th of July! I hope you are enjoying a time of celebration with family and friends. I’m grateful for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and the opportunity to reflect on them today.

Today’s reading takes us into Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians. At this point, Paul had not met the Roman believers, so this letter served as an introduction before his visit. Likely written from Corinth around A.D. 57, Paul was preparing to head to Jerusalem to deliver gifts to the poor. After that, he planned to stop in Rome on his way to Spain.

In the introduction to the book of Romans, the Life Application Study Bible (2004) divides Paul’s letter into two sections, what to believe (chapters 1- 11) and how to behave (chapters 12 – 16). He makes a solid case for salvation through Jesus Christ alone and gives guidance on how to grow and live out your faith.

The early Roman church was made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. It is believed that the church was started by Jews who had converted to Christianity at Pentecost.

As a teen, I learned an evangelism tool called The Roman Road. Using verses from the book of Romans, the story of salvation is told. Paul covers sin and our separation from God, our need for a Savior, and salvation as a gift of grace from God through Jesus in great detail. He wanted the Roman believers to have a firm foundation of faith and to know what they believed and why. Romans can serve the same purpose for us today. Here are a couple of verses from chapter 1 that I believe set the stage for the letter:

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. ¹⁷ This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”