The Good Book Club 2019--Romans 1:8-17

Two things come to mind when I read the "thanksgiving" portion of Paul's letter to the Romans.

• The incredible love and trust Paul places in people whom he has never met
• Paul's summary statement on the role of faith and salvation.

Paul says that he is "longing to see" the faithful in Rome (1:11) in order that they "may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith (1:12). Wow. Think about that. Paul doesn't know these people at all. Certainly he has heard stories or perhaps conversed with some of them who have traveled to places where he was, but he never has visited their church. Imagine if your church received a letter that read something like this:

Dear Trinity Parish,

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to come and worship with you. I've seen your Facebook, and I even followed you on SoundCloud to listen to the beautiful music and hear the sermons. You are clearly such people of incredible faith. A friend of mine was going through Wilmington and said she joined a group of you in preparing a meal for the women who live at Friendship House. I just know in my heart that if I came and spent some time with you, I would learn so much about what it means to follow Jesus. I, too, have been proclaiming the Gospel, and I think we could learn a lot from each other.

I imagine that if I were reading Paul's letter as a member of the church in Rome, I would be incredibly flattered. Furthermore, I would see that Paul's zeal for spreading the Good News somehow resonates with what we had been doing in our church. What exactly is the connection between our faith professed and our faith lived out?

Moving to the second point, I don't want to say too much except that I believe that Rom 1:16-17 provides an summary thesis statement for the whole letter. It's worth reproducing:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

As we continue reading through the book, this statement gives us some key themes to look for:

• What is the role between faith and salvation?
• What is the role between the Jews and the Gentiles?
• What does it mean to live by faith? (Perhaps also the role between faith and works.)
• What is the righteousness of God?