Romans 1:1-7 (Part 2: The Gospel)

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ 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. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ 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 Part 1: A Calling, we looked at Paul's radical transformation of identity. In this section, we'll be looking at verses 2-4. The Gospel for which Paul put his identity in. A simple gospel; the gospel told throughout Acts. 

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,

    which has become the cornerstone.’

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4)

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10)

2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.“This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. (Acts 17)

The message of this gospel is simple: Christ came, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead, Christ saves. 

This is the evangelism tool of the early church that saved thousands. This is the gospel. The only gospel. For as Jesus said in John 14:16, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" 

I have read that Latin for this phrase is "Via, Veritas, Vita". It reminds me of "Veni, vidi, vici" (We came, we saw, we conquered), another Latin phrase reportedly written by Julius Ceasar in reference to a great battle. And that is the simplicity of the gospel - "He came, He Saved, He Conquered"