Take a moment to read Romans 1:1-17 before reading the devotional below.
Invite your friends to join us as we start this new series on Romans by hitting the social media “Share” buttons!
Before we start exploring Paul’s letter to the church in Rome over the next month or so, take time to read about its background and history. This letter is not storytelling, but rather makes some important points about what it means to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and to follow him. We will be asking a lot of questions during this series, rather than describing events.
Paul begins his theological framework by fitting Jesus into the bigger story that God had been working out with his Jewish people for thousands of years. He makes the connection with David’s family line, from which the Messiah would come. He affirms the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, a key point for understanding the rest of his argument. Paul is also affirming that Jesus came not just for Jews, but for “Gentiles” (all non-Jewish people). These are big shifts in thinking for religious Jews who had taken the Scriptures and created some preconceived ideas of what the Messiah would be like. But Paul declares that he is not ashamed to tell everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, that Jesus is the Messiah and he came to save the world.
Here’s your freedom for today: faith is the key to freedom. Do you believe God has power? Do you believe that he demonstrated that power through Jesus on earth? Do you believe he is active in the world and in our lives today through his Holy Spirit? Do you believe God is willing and able to transform you? All of these questions take faith to believe, but faith is not a mere list of check-boxes that makeup a religious worldview. Instead, faith takes action on these beliefs — following a calling of God on your life, sacrificing personal comfort for spiritual growth, praying for and expecting miracles. When you have faith that Jesus is the Son of God and the hope of the world, you can’t just live a run-of-the-mill life. Faith brings freedom to live beyond what this world can offer. Just a tiny little bit can change everything.