Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In October of 1955, Martyn Lloyd-Jones began preaching a special sermon series on Friday evenings to his congregation at Westminster Chapel in the heart of central London. The series was on the book of Romans and would continue for the next thirteen years until his retirement in March of 1968. Week by week, Lloyd-Jones slowly and methodically worked his way through the 16 chapters of Romans, one verse, or even one word, at a time. He spent the first of many hours of preaching and teaching, focusing on just the first word of the letter; "Paul." To understand the book as a whole, Lloyd-Jones knew the listener needed to have a foundational understanding of the human author. Before going any further into core Christian doctrine, there was a need to first understand Paul's background, his motives, mindset, areas of strengths and weaknesses, and even the events that led him to write the famous letter. The same is true for us today when it comes to the Bible as a whole. Though written by men, the true author of Scripture is God Himself, who divinely inspired those men to write their words. But God did not take over men's bodies or force their hands. There is something of the human author on the pages as well: their personalities, their writing style, their unique personal experiences and insight. To know the human author is to gain just a little more context and a greater understanding of the heart of the words written.

Paul begins the letter by introducing himself to the Gentile Christians of Rome, most of whom had never met or even seen Paul in person. They were gentiles, meaning non-Jewish, who were called out to belong to Jesus Christ as part of the Ekklesia and, along with the Jews, to be God's holy and set apart people. Paul also introduces himself as a servant, using the Greek word to describe a bondservant who is in servitude to Christ. Paul’s self-identification is important and speaks to his frame of mind. He is first a servant of Jesus Christ and secondly called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. There were several ancient Greek words used to designate a type of slave, but the idea behind the word servant (Doulos) refers to complete and utter devotion from a place of free will as opposed to any form of forced servitude. In this way, Paul freely chose to serve and give his life to Jesus. Paul states that he has been set apart for the gospel, but what exactly has he been set apart from? The answer to this question, which Paul soon dives into, is separation from the rest of the Roman world and the goals of that imperial society. Paul declares that his motivations and goals are different because his kingdom of interest is different. He shares his motives are not for himself and not to make his name great but only for the glory of God and to advance the kingdom of God. Years earlier, when Paul was a Pharisee serving in the Sanhedrin, he was set apart for the Law. But now, as an unashamed Christian, Paul has been separated and set apart for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Very integral to the Book of Romans were the people to whom Paul was writing and specifically where they were living. They were Christians in the city of Rome. Think about that for a moment. Rome was the capital of the vast and expanding Roman Empire, an empire that valued power, strength, and the ability to show no mercy in crushing any who dared oppose it. This was the same Rome that worshipped a pantheon of gods of fertility, harvest, war, and nature. The most common forms of worship to these gods were physical offerings, immoral acts such as a frenzied cutting of your flesh, sexual orgies, and mindless chanting. This Roman church was full of Christians living in the middle of the capital of a place known for its indulgence and evil ways, living among people opposed to a life of selfless, moral living. These are people who will most likely hate Christians for their rejection of pagan ways, the possible displeasing of their gods, and the consequences of angering those gods. Yet Rome did much that could also be admired. They were disciplined people who craved order and ambitious kingdom expansion. The vast majority of the middle and lower classes were hard workers who were mostly concerned with getting by and providing food for their families. These were also a people who respected logic and reasoning, a trait carried over from Greek philosophical roots that Paul would use to his benefit.

Paul set out to introduce a fleshed-out gospel to Roman converts who were in the very early stages of forming a Christian community. He knew that this Gospel of Jesus Christ would be the foundation for all that came next, and their acceptance of this full Gospel would determine if the Christian Church in Rome thrived or was swallowed up in the hedonistic pagan culture. Paul declares that this gospel he taught was not new and was not a clever invention of man or something he had come up with. Paul’s world was much like ours, with people who liked “new” teachings and doctrines. Nevertheless, Paul didn’t bring something new but something very old in the plan of God and a Gospel message that had been foretold and promised for many centuries. Paul shares that at the center of the gospel, all he works for is Jesus, the “sun" that everything else orbits around, and he has kept his eyes fixed on him. The center of Christianity is not a style of teaching or a moral system. It is a person: Jesus Christ. Jesus has both a human origin, was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and has an eternal divine existence through his declaration to be the Son of God. The evidence of Jesus’ humanity is his human birth, and the evidence or proof of his divinity is clear in his resurrection from the dead. This ancient Greek word Paul uses for declared (Horizo) comes from the idea to bound, define, determine, or limit and forms our modern word horizon, the line that determines the farthest visible part of the Earth in reference to the heavens. The Gospel Paul preached wasn't just an interesting theory or Greek philosophy; it was, and still is, life-changing and transforming good news, big enough and great enough for the whole world but intimate enough for the single person. Paul knew Rome would be a strategic center in this kingdom expansion, which is why he wanted to make sure they got it right and the foundation was laid strong for what would come next.