The reason for writing the letter to the Romans.
“For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you.” Romans 1:11, NET. Paul wanted to visit the Church in Rome, but for an unknown reason, he could not fulfill the wish before he wrote the letter to the Romans. However, he did not want the believers in Rome to think they were being ignored, so he sent them a letter to relate to the believers in Rome, the core of the same good news he proclaimed wherever he went. Jesus called Paul and commissioned him to proclaim the good news – Jesus Christ. The good news is the only foundation of the Christian faith.
The believers in Rome were well established in the Christian faith, and they acknowledged Jesus as the promised Messiah – the Savior of the world. In Greek, “to strengthen you” also means “so that you may be strengthened.” Paul acknowledged and was grateful for the way the believers in Rome exercised their faith. However, because he could not visit the believers in Rome, Paul sent a letter to encourage and strengthen them. Paul also hoped he could, in the future, visit the believers in Rome so that they could have mutual encouragement.
The most important reason for the letter to the Romans was to present the essential truth of the gospel for which Paul was set aside to proclaim to all nations. “For I am not ashamed of the good news of the Christ” why? “For it is God’s power unto salvation to anyone who believes.” Romans 1:16 (Comparative Greek Text). We became slaves to sin and entirely powerless to reverse our decision in the garden of Eden. We became helpless because sin is the power we could not overcome. However, the power of God – Jesus Christ – who is the gospel, the good news; defeated the power of sin in us and replaced it with God’s righteousness – Jesus Christ, the power of God. And that is why Christ is the good news.
The wrath of God, read the next blog.
