Bible Study Romans 1
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Romans 1 · WEB

The Gospel of God and the Wrath of God

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Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,
2which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh,
4who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name's sake;
6among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ;
7to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
9For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Good News of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,
10requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.
11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established;
12that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.
13Now I don't desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, and was hindered so far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
14I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15So, as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome.
16For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
17For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
20For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
21Because, knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
24Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves;
25who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature.
27Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
28Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers,
30backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
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Summary

Paul introduces himself, his message, and his audience: he is a servant set apart for the gospel of God promised through the prophets and centered in Jesus, the Son of David vindicated as Son of God by the resurrection. He thanks God for the Roman believers' world-renowned faith and explains that he has long wanted to visit them. He states the letter's thesis: he is not ashamed of the gospel — it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, because in it God's righteousness is revealed "from faith to faith." Then he turns to humanity's need: God's wrath is revealed against ungodliness because what can be known of God is plain from creation, yet humanity has suppressed the truth, exchanging the glory of God for idols and the Creator for created things; consequently God has handed them over to dishonoring lusts and a debased mind, with a catalog of sins they not only commit but approve in others.

Themes

  • The gospel as God's planned and promised power
  • Jesus as both son of David and Son of God
  • Justification by faith — Paul's letter thesis
  • Creation as universal witness, idolatry as universal sin
  • God's "giving over" as wrath in the present

Key verses

  • Romans 1:1 — “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God.”
  • Romans 1:16 — “For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.”
  • Romans 1:17 — “For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith... 'The righteous shall live by faith.'”
  • Romans 1:20 — “The invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made... that they may be without excuse.”

Context & background

Romans was written from Corinth c. AD 56-57 during Paul's three-month stay in Greece on the third missionary journey (Acts 20:2-3), shortly before he carried the offering to Jerusalem. Phoebe of Cenchreae likely carried the letter (Romans 16:1-2). The Roman church was not founded by Paul — its origins are unclear but probably trace to Jewish believers from Pentecost (Acts 2:10 mentions "visitors from Rome") plus subsequent migration. Claudius' AD 49 expulsion of Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2) had left the church temporarily Gentile-dominated, and the Jewish believers' return after Claudius' death in AD 54 created the Jew-Gentile tensions Paul addresses through the letter. The famous "righteous shall live by faith" (v. 17) is Habakkuk 2:4 — central to Paul's theology, also quoted in Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. The vice list in vv. 28-31 resembles standard Greco-Roman moralist catalogs but is set within a uniquely biblical framework. "Greeks and barbarians" (v. 14) meant the educated and uneducated worlds of the empire.

Cross-references

  • 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 — The "foolishness" of the cross as God's power and wisdom — parallel to v. 16.
  • 2 Timothy 1:8 — "Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" — Paul's recurring concern.
  • Habakkuk 2:4 — "The righteous will live by his faith" — quoted in v. 17, the seedbed of justification by faith.
  • Isaiah 44:9-20 — Mockery of idol-making — the OT theology behind vv. 22-23.
  • Psalm 19:1-4 — "The heavens declare the glory of God" — the universal revelation Paul invokes in vv. 19-20.

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What does Paul say the gospel's power accomplishes, and for whom (Romans 1:16)?

  2. Observe

    What does Paul say humanity did after knowing God, according to Romans 1:21-23?

  3. Interpret

    Paul says "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" in the gospel (Romans 1:17). What does "the righteousness of God" primarily refer to in this context?

  4. Interpret

    Paul says "God gave them up" three times (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). What kind of judgment is this — active punishment, passive withdrawal, or both?

  5. Apply

    Paul says he is "not ashamed of the gospel" (Romans 1:16). Where in your life are you most tempted to soften, conceal, or apologize for the gospel, and how does verse 16 itself answer that temptation?

  6. Apply

    Paul identifies idolatry — exchanging the glory of God for created things (Romans 1:22-23) — as the root of every other moral distortion. What "exchanges" are most subtly tempting you right now?

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