Jan 29th

Genesis 30     Esther 6     Romans 1     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Romans 1

Welcome to Romans!

Reading through Romans is an exciting adventure into the very heart of God – because Romans is all about the gospel. It is about how God loves humankind, and how He has to judge humankind for its sin. It is about the rescue plan that He set up and instituted in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is about what living under this rescue plan should look like for His people, as we try to reflect His character and grow in Christlikeness. So as you read through this book over the days to come, enjoy hearing about the love, wisdom, sovereignty, and compassion of the God of the Universe. And praise Him!
The book of Romans is written by the apostle Paul, who was commissioned by God to preach about Jesus to the Gentiles (1:5), urging them to come to faith. He is writing to the largely Gentile Christians in the important city of Rome, which he had not yet visited, but longed and planned to do so as soon as he could (1:10). 
Paul is passionate about the gospel, and about telling people about it (v1-17). Paul serves the gospel with his whole heart (1:9), and constantly prays for those who need to hear it or do the same (1:9). He longs to share the gospel with Christians he has never met (1:11), and is bound to this message of salvation for all people (1:14). And importantly Paul is not ashamed of the gospel message, because it saves people, granting them a status in which they are counted right with God (“righteous”, 1:17).
And Paul is real about how much all humans need this gospel (v18-32). This is what happens when we reject the gospel. What may be known about God has been made plain to all people (1:19-20), and yet all people have rejected the Creator God, and preferred to worship created things instead (1:21-25). And so God in His justice allows us to do this, and reap the consequences of our actions (1:26-31). And approve of them (1:32)! All humans have therefore set themselves up for judgement (1:18) – the right and just consequence of this rebellious behaviour.
Which makes 1:16-17 very precious! The Lord Jesus Christ has created a way out of this mess into eternal safety and freedom with our Creator. And into a status of being right with God. 
Do you know this for yourself? Do you believe this deep inside you? If not, please don’t let this week go by without finding out more about it – read on! And if you do believe this, then rejoice with Paul –in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

(reflections this week have been written by a friend of Christ Church)