Romans 1:1-5 – Seven Major Themes

When we compare 1:1-5 with 16:25-27, we will discover seven major themes in Romans.

1. God
   1. Gospel of God – God is the origin of gospel (1:1)
   2. God has promised in scriptures through His prophets (1:2)
   3. God gave up His Son (1:3-4)
   4. God strengthens us (16:25)
   5. God has commanded us to tell the nations about obedience of faith (16:26)
   6. God is the only wise God (16:27)
   7. God deserves all the glory forevermore (16:27)
2. Gospel
   1. Romans letter that explains gospel (1:1)
   2. This gospel is according to scriptures – Bible (1:2)
   3. The content of the gospel is Jesus Christ (1:3, 16:25), Son of God (1:4)
3. Jesus Christ
   1. Meaning of Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua – Joshua) – Jehovah is savior
   2. Jesus is Christ (Messiah) (1:1, 1:4, 16:25,16:27)
   3. Jesus is the Lord of all preachers (1:1)
   4. Jesus is the content the gospel (1:3)
   5. By fresh Jesus is descendent of David (1:3)
   6. By Spirit Jesus is Son of God (1:4)
   7. Jesus dead and resurrected (1:4)
   8. Jesus called people to serve Him (1:5)
   9. Jesus is the central of our preaching (16:25)
4. Prophetic writings
   1. God promised in holy Scriptures (1:2, 16:26)
   2. Example: 1:17 – The righteous shall live by faith – Habakkuk 2:4, Gal3:11,Heb10:38
   3. 3:10-18 – None is righteous, no, not one – Ps 14:3,5:9, 36:1, 140:3, Isiah59:7-8
   4. At least 10 references to OT in Chapter 10 alone
5. Declared/Disclosed/Revelation
   1. Declared to be Son of God by His resurrection (1:4)
   2. the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed (16:25-26)
6. Paul
   1. Servant of the Lord (1:1)
   2. Apostle (1:1)
   3. Received grace and apostleship (1:5)
   4. Preach the gospel among all the nations (1:5,16:26)
   5. Paul explains his spiritual struggle in Chapter 7
   6. Paul talked about his willingness to be cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of his kinsmen – Israelites (10:3)
   7. Paul asked us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. (12:1)
   8. Minister of Jesus Christ, as priest of the gospel of God (15:16)
   9. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Cor11:1)
7. Obedience of faith (1,5;16:26)
   1. Two major concepts in Romans: Believe and Obey. To receive the gospel, we must believe in Jesus Christ (1:16:3:22)
   2. 2^nd, After we believe, we must be obedience, offer our body as living sacrifice (12:1) because it is the everlasting God’s command (16:26)
   3. God’s will is so that through obedience to Holy Spirit (8:5) that is living in us, we will confirmed to the image of His Son (8:29), so that one day we will enter into God’s glory, become heirs of God, and reign the universe with our Lord. (8:17)