Definitions - Romans 1:1-17

It’s interesting because I had a really terrible time all of last week and when it got to Friday, I was so upset about different things that I was like “no I can’t even think about the scriptures today,” so I didn’t. Now that I’m on the other side of it, I really feel that I could have saved myself a lot of pain and panic if I had just studied the scriptures like I was supposed to and wok out all my mess with Jesus. But lesson learned and here I am.

Paul introduces himself to the reader and gives a lot of information about himself and his mission. He declared himself “an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” This apparently means that he has been set apart for the purpose of being an apostle. Paul further declares that his mission is “concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” He declares that this Jesus has “power” and that he was resurrected from the dead. Paul tells the saints in Rome that he is praying for them, and he hopes to have a prosperous journey to come visit them at some point.
Here comes Paul’s thesis statement, “for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” The IM gives many definitions that will be useful to have while studying the book of Romans, but first explains Paul’s these of the epistle, saying, “the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring salvation to everyone who lives by faith in Jesus Christ.”
The IM continues, “Much of the content of the rest of the epistle relates to key terms and ideas found in these two verses.” Here are some of the words and concepts defined by the IM to help us understand Romans more:
1.  Gospel. The word “gospel” comes to us by way of translation from Greek, and the word meaning “good news.” This is an interesting concept because if we consider the change in perspective that the gospel can have in our lives, it really can be “good news.” It’s like we use that phrase in the context of “good news, you don’t have cancer,” or “good news, it’s not going to rain on the day of your party.”
But really, I imagine myself as someone answering the door to the missionaries and having them say, “we have good news, you can be with your family forever.” Or “you can have peace and joy in your life by building a relationship with Jesus Christ.” Or “God knows you personally and loves you more than you can even imagine.” This are all life changing statements, if the person who is hearing them is ready to understand them.
2. Salvation. This is a two-fold topic. The IM gives the definition of salvation as “to be saved from both physical and spiritual death.” We are saved from physical death through the resurrection. We are saved from spiritual death if we repent and have faith in Christ.
3. Faith and believeth. The IM gives a very profound example of this concept, “for Paul, faith in Jesus Christ was not just mental agreement with the idea that Jesus is the Son of God, but wholehearted acceptance of Jesus Christ and trust in Him as the One who offered Himself in Atonement for our sins. This deep trust leads to a life of faithfulness, manifested by repenting of sins, being baptized, and trying to live as Jesus Christ taught.” This was a powerful statement for me because I’ve always struggled to define “faith” in a way that reconciles grace and works.
I’ve heard faith defined as “a hope for things which are not seen, which are true,” and in some contexts that makes sense, but I’ve always struggled with the wording because the word “hope” is too much like a wish. “I hope I win a million dollars” uses similar wording but is predicated on luck, not assurance of saving principles. I have substituted “hope” for “trust” in the above definition and I find that it suits my understanding better.
When you hope for something, you wish it, and then do whatever you want because nothing you do will impact a wish coming true. But when you trust in something, you live your life according to the assumption that something is true and even though you aren’t 100% sure, you find it reliable enough to base life choices around. And really, that’s Paul’s definition as well, faith isn’t just a wish for something to be true, but it’s basically putting your money where your mouth is.
4. Jews and Greeks. The IM says, “The Jews were the surviving members of God’s covenant people, Israel, to whom He had revealed the Law of Moses over one thousand years before Christ. Paul used both the terms Greek and Gentile to refer to people who were not born into the house of Israel.”
5. Righteousness and Just. This is also an interesting concept. Right is what is correct and perfect, but the word Justhere means Justification, which in this context means that God “sets right all that is wrong, including restoring people to a right relationship with Him. To be justified by God means ‘to be pardoned from punishment for sin and declared guiltless. A person is justified by the Savior’s grace through faith in him. This faith is shown by repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Jesus Christ’s atonement enables mankind to repent and be justified or pardoned from punishment they otherwise would receive.”