Exegesis on the Book of Romans (I)

This Book Is Dedicated to All Souls

The righteousness of God is transparent. God’s righteousness cannot be substituted by anything. That is because His righteousness is different from the righteousness of man. We need to know what God’s righteousness is, and we need to believe in it.

God’s righteousness is fundamentally different from human righteousness. The righteousness of mankind is like a filthy rag, but the righteousness of God is like a brilliant pearl shining forever. God’s righteousness is the Truth that is absolutely needed by every sinner, transcending all ages.

Our faith in the righteousness of God must be one that can be verified in the Word of Truth. Do you believe in the righteousness of God that is absolutely indispensable in these end times, when the Lord’s return is imminent? Do you want to believe in the perfect righteousness of God within the Word of Truth and meet the Lord? Have you ever met God’s righteousness? You need to realize that God’s righteousness is found in Jesus, who worked in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You must meet Jesus, who has become God’s perfect righteousness, and you must believe in Him.

Exegesis on The Book of ROMANS (I)

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2006 by The New Life Mission

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

ISBN 978-89-282-1033-6

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Paul, a Missionary to the Gentiles (Romans 1:1-32)

2. To Those Who Band Together to Stand against God (Romans 2:1-29)

3. In What Respect Are Jews Better Than Gentiles? (Romans 3:1-31)

4. The Righteousness of Man Is Nothing to Be Proud of (Romans 4:1-25)

5. Together with God (Romans 5:1-21)

6. We Can No Longer Continue in Sin (Romans 6:1-23)

7. The Law That Has Dominion over Man (Romans 7:1-25)

8. People to Whom There Is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1-39)

9. Where Does the Apostle Paul’s Anguish Come from? (Romans 9:1-33)

Preface

The Book of Romans in the Bible is the Word of the Truth that integrates both the New and Old Testaments completely and systematically.

All Christians think that they know the Book of Romans very well. But it dawned upon me that many of them have in fact misunderstood it on far too many issues. So I began to write this book for the purpose of enabling everyone to know the Truth easily and clearly, providing exegesis for each verse, and sometimes sermons.

My hope for you, the reader, is to discern the righteousness of God from the righteousness of man as revealed in the Bible. My purpose here is to make this difference clear to you. Through this sermon book on Romans, I would also like to clarify that God’s righteousness is different from what most of you have known. My desire is to clearly testify the majesty of the righteousness of God and the salvation that is brought to those who believe in His righteousness, so that anyone can reach the correct understanding of them and have the right faith in God.

Most Christians think that they know the Book of Romans at least to some degree, if not thoroughly. So they are prone to think that anyone who knows the so-called Five Points of Calvinism knows God fairly well. However, few Christians truly understand how the righteousness of man and the righteousness of God are different from each other. They all profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior, but I am not sure that every one of them indeed knows and believes in God’s righteousness properly.

The entire Scriptures speak about God’s righteousness through everything. The problem is however, that far too many people mistakenly consider their own righteousness as God’s righteousness and believe so. It’s true that there are only a few people on this planet who actually know the righteousness of God properly, believe in it and preach it correctly. But what is sadder than this is that even Christians are unable to speak out on this issue. Therefore, we may very well say that they are like a watchdog that can’t even bark.

This book’s contents are composed of commentaries and sermons on the Book of Romans, and they are all about God’s righteousness that is testified in detail. We need to realize here that the kind of faith confessed by many Christians today is a dogmatic faith mixed up with man’s own righteousness and religious righteousness; and that such Christians are all living saturated in their own fallacious beliefs. As such, I have tried even harder to let Christians know that God’s righteousness is fundamentally different from man’s righteousness. I hope you would all realize my sincere effort in this book. Let me make a bold claim here that this book is absolutely indispensable to make God’s righteousness known to all the Christians of this world. If this one book can deliver God’s righteousness to your faith, I have no other wants or desires.

Until now, traditional teachings on the Book of Romans have been placed as the foundation of Christian doctrines. However, it is not doctrines or dogmas that testify what God’s righteousness is. Many people have interpreted the Book of Romans based on either their own thoughts or their own sectarian creeds. They have fabricated their own Christian doctrines, and they have foolishly fit God’s Word into these doctrines of their own making. So many people have been busy using the Bible only as a secondary textbook only for the purpose of validating such doctrines fabricated with their own thoughts. This is akin to the original script being treated as a copy.

Far too many Christians have used the Bible as a study aid to their own Christian doctrines. I couldn’t resist writing this book, because I couldn’t bear such a travesty that renders the Truth of the Bible into man-made doctrines. However, when the righteousness of God is properly testified throughout the whole world, people will no longer commit the foolish act of trying to fit the scriptural Word to their own thoughts. It is my hope and prayer that all those who profess to believe in God would from now on stop considering the Bible merely as a study aid to Christian doctrines, and return to the righteousness of God, to the faith that believes in this righteousness. I pray that from this moment, they would all realize that only the righteousness of God is the foundation of true faith.

God’s righteousness will set you free from all imperfections, and it will enable you to have God’s perfect faith just like Abraham. May the Spirit of Truth be with you always.

Rev. Paul C. Jong, Author

Exegesis Chapter 1

Paul, a Missionary

To the Gentiles

< Romans 1:1-32 >

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To 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. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established — that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.

Paul was chosen for God’s gospel. Who could be chosen to preach God’s gospel? If anyone thinks that he was chosen as a servant of God without knowing the gospel of God’s righteousness, he is only fooling himself. If you do not know this gospel of God’s righteousness, and yet you believe you were called by God, this is a delusion. One is called by God only after he comes to know His righteousness and believes in it. How could one ever be called His servant if he is completely ignorant of the gospel of the righteousness of God? No one can be called like this.

In spite of this, countless pastors all over the world have turned themselves into God’s servant all on their own, without understanding the gospel Word of God’s righteousness. One of their common characteristics is that they are hypnotized by their own emotion. Another characteristic is that they have become God’s servants all on their own, as they have made a vow to God, and they feel they are bound by this promise. Could such people really be called as God’s servants?

Some pastors are hypnotized by their own congregations. They received recognition from many people and heard them saying, You can become God’s servant. Hypnotized by what people around them say, they are made ministers by others. If they do not know what God’s righteousness is, there is clear evidence of their incapacity to do God’s work. In other words, God does not call someone who is ignorant of His righteousness to be His servant and He does not use such people. Who then, does God call to be His servant? Those who are called by God are those who know and believe in the gospel of the righteousness of God. Those who become God’s servants are called to His service only after they first receive the remission of their sins by believing in the Word. Then God gives them the power to preach the gospel of His righteousness. Of course, there are servants who are called and used as ornamental knobs for the spreading of the gospel. There were seven bowls made like almond blossoms on top of each branch of the golden lamp in the Tabernacle. Each bowl was supported with an ornamental knob so that the lamp gave light brightly inside the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-39). In fact, Jesus is the Light and we are the ornamental knobs that support the preaching of the gospel of the righteousness of God.

Paul was a missionary to the Gentiles. He was God’s servant who testified the righteousness of God clearly and systematically. Had Paul preached man’s righteousness instead of God’s righteousness, he would not have been a servant of Christ. He was, however, an apostle sent by God who preached His righteousness. This is why he is greatly respected in Christian communities. If Christians do not believe in the righteousness of God that Paul preached, it would seriously undermine the Christian faith. By believing in Paul’s written testimony of the righteousness of God, Christians have been passing their faith from generation to generation. Through the righteousness of God revealed in the Book of Romans, we can come to understand the righteousness of God and believe in it.

Paul Was Sent by God

What does the word Apostle mean? It means one who is sent by God. An apostle is one who is sent by God to testify the works of Jesus Christ who has saved mankind from sin and to bear witness of His salvation. Why is apostleship so special? We can find the answer to this question if we examine the duties performed by the apostles who were sent by the Lord. They did not see themselves as mere witnesses of the gospel. They knew that they were God’s special ambassadors. Because they were apostles, God spoke through their authoritative words, and therefore the words they spoke had power that came from God.

In the Book of Romans, Paul wrote the letter introducing himself as an apostle. Paul reminded the saints in Rome of this, but this also pertains to us. It tells us how we should interpret the Book of Romans for our benefit. We must accept it as the Word of God that preaches His righteousness to us. God does not speak to us directly, but through the Pauline Epistles we can still hear of God’s righteousness. Therefore, we must obey what God is teaching us through the Apostle Paul. This is why the apostle’s words are so important. The words of the apostles are the words that reveal God’s will and His righteousness, and they have His authority.

The Historic Gospel Where God’s  Righteousness Is Manifested

Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

The gospel of the righteousness of God must be able to be proven in the Old Testament. A gospel claiming to be the gospel of God’s righteousness, and not having the support of the Word prophesied in the Pentateuch and the Books of the prophets in the Old Testament cannot be called the gospel of the righteousness of God. The true gospel cannot be completed on its own without the Word of the Old Testament.

Then what is the gospel of the righteousness of God? It is a gospel that is founded on the Word of promise prophesied in the Old Testament. In speaking about the gospel of the righteousness of God, the Apostle Paul said, Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Just as this passage says, the gospel of God’s righteousness can be found in the sacrificial system that was practiced in the Tabernacle. This sacrificial system practiced in the Tabernacle prophesied about how and by what method Jesus Christ would take upon Himself the sins of mankind. The laying on of hands included in the Tabernacle’s sacrificial system refers to Jesus’ baptism in the New Testament.

The most important word in the opening of the Book of Romans is the gospel where God’s righteousness is manifested. This word is critical because it is the very subject of the Book of Romans. The Book of Romans was written to explain God’s great righteousness.

In verse 1, Paul mentioned the gospel, and he stated that it was the gospel of God. It was for this gospel that he was called and separated. In verse 2, he explains in more detail where this gospel began. He found its beginning in the promise of the Old Testament, which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. In other words, it is a gospel that is founded on the prophecies of Jesus Christ. In verse 9, Paul once again underscores the majesty of the gospel, calling it the gospel of His Son.

To Understand the Gospel as the Good News

We take the meaning of the gospel (euaggelion in Greek) as good news. However, many people stop at this definition of the gospel as the good news, and are unable to grasp that it actually means God’s righteousness. For us to understand why the gospel is the good news, we need to begin by first understanding how flawless God’s righteousness is.

In the religions of this world, the standard of good and evil is relative. However, in Christianity, the righteousness of God is absolute; it is something unique that cannot be compared to any human being’s righteousness. Paul said that God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel (Romans 1:17). Therefore, the gospel of the righteousness of God is the gospel of salvation for all sinners. If anyone believes in the gospel that contains the righteousness of God, all his sins will disappear and he will become a sinless person. This is the very purpose for which God has given us the gospel where His righteousness is revealed.

Before Paul came to know the righteousness of God, he followed the Law. The Law demanded good deeds and high moral standards. However, this Law could not bring any peace to him, nor could it enable him to receive the true righteousness of God. Paul, like all of us, was incapable of keeping the Law, and he confessed that in the Law, he was an utterly wretched man (Roman 7:24).

Even the atheists, if they turn around, hear what the good news of the righteousness of God is and believe in it, then they too will be saved from their sins and receive eternal life. This is the most precious blessing coming from the righteousness of God. It is not the righteousness of man. The gospel that God has given to mankind is good, because His righteousness is in it. Also, it is good because God has saved us from our sins through the works of Jesus Christ. Because of our sins, we could not come before God. Our sins had separated us from God. The righteousness of God opened a bridge to enable us to go to God because Jesus Christ took upon all our sins and blotted them all out. Even though we had longed to do so, we couldn’t find God because we did not know God’s righteousness. Now we are praising the Lord who has come to us as the righteousness of God.

Jesus Christ Is God for the Believers

concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

This passage tells us that Jesus Christ was born in the household of Judah. From the very beginning, Jesus Christ was the Son of God and the King of kings. According to Old Testament’s prophecies, He was born of the seed of David, in the household of Judah, and became the High Priest of Heaven. Only the Levites could become priests of the people of Israel. No one could become a priest unless he was from this tribe. However, Jesus Christ is not an earthly priest, but the heavenly Priest. He came to this earth, and to remit away all the sins of this world through His baptism and His shed blood on the Cross, He has blotted out the sins of the world. The duty of the heavenly Priest lay in the baptism He received and the blood He shed on the Cross.

Christ is the center of Christianity and the incarnation of God’s righteousness. Everything else plays only a supplementary role. Jesus Christ is God Himself, and the Savior for all those who believe in Him. Jesus not only had divine attributes, but for mankind, He has become their Savior. There is no human being who is like Him. Only Jesus Christ is the everlasting God and the Savior of sinners. For us, only Jesus Christ and He alone is our God. This does not mean that we do not recognize God the Father and the Holy Spirit as God.

For the Entire Mankind, the Lord Is the Everlasting Creator and the Eternal Savior

And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

In essence, Jesus Christ is the sinless, holy Son of God. Jesus Christ is the Holy God by nature, but He came to this earth incarnated in the flesh, took upon Himself the sins of the world through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, was crucified and shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead again, thereby becoming the Savior of all who believe in God’s righteousness.

Because Jesus Christ is our Creator, even death and darkness could not hold Him back. He is the Son of God the Father, the Lord who lacks nothing to be recognized as the Savior of sinners. Although Jesus Christ is omnipotent, He has saved sinners from their sins through the baptism He received from John the Baptist and His shed blood. He has thereby completed His work to move them to the Kingdom of God. What did Jesus do when He came to this earth? By being baptized by John the Baptist, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again, He has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to all those who believe in the righteousness of God. This is why Jesus Christ is the Savior who has saved sinners from their sins by receiving His baptism on His body for sinners, dying by being nailed to the Cross, and rising from the dead again. He has become the God of all His believers, because He has fulfilled His promise truthfully.

Jesus is the Son of the living God and the Savior of sinners. This statement was the basic element of the Christian faith during the Early Church era. However, such faith has been substituted by the Apostles’ Creed in terms of formalism. Since 313 AD, when Constantine the Great proclaimed the Edict of Milan that granted Romans religious freedom, the Apostles’ Creed has been used as the standard bearer for baptizing people as a sign of being Christians.

To call Jesus as the Lord entails two meanings: First, it means Jesus is God; second, it means Jesus is the Savior of sinners. These two meanings show us why the Early Church Christians did not want to use the name Lord for anyone else. If they had used this name for someone else, it would have been tantamount to not believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior. The Lord is the everlasting Creator for all mankind and the eternal Savior. Jesus Christ is the everlasting righteousness of God.

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

Those who have been remitted from all their sins and become the servants of the righteousness of God by believing in the God-given righteousness are the ones who have become Jesus Christ’s people and obey Him. Because of this, they only preach the righteousness of God achieved by Jesus Christ, and they have no reason to spread their own carnal wisdom, knowledge, or pride. If anyone claims to be God’s servant and yet boasts of his knowledge, wisdom, or good deeds of the flesh, then he is not a servant of Jesus Christ. Those who have truly become Jesus Christ’s servants preach and spread only the righteousness of God throughout their entire lifetime. To testify the righteousness of God, His servants may use examples in their sermons, but through such examples they just want to exalt God’s righteousness even more.

God’s servants are those who live only for the works that manifest the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God has made such servants of righteousness spread His righteousness to everyone throughout the world. By hearing the Word of salvation preached to them by the servants of Jesus Christ, countless people living on earth are being remitted from all their sins and becoming God’s children.

Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

All the saints in Rome were Gentiles at first. We, too, were not God’s people at first, but Gentiles. However, by realizing the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit containing God’s righteousness, and by believing in this gospel Word, we have come to belong to Jesus Christ.

We are the followers of Jesus Christ called by God. We now belong to Christ. This is such a great blessing and wonderful honor. How could something like this have happened to us? By nature, we could not avoid being born as slaves to sin from our very birth, and yet through the gospel of the righteousness of God, we have now become the followers of Christ. We can only thank God for the gospel of truly amazing power.

To 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.

Those of us who believe in the righteousness of God desire everyone to have the God-given grace of the remission of sin and peace in their hearts. That is why we want to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If we, the righteous, did not have this desire, then we would not be devoting our hearts to other souls. However, in the hearts of all those who have attained the righteousness of God by faith, the Holy Spirit dwells in them, and they have the yearning for everyone to receive the remission of sin. As such, to all those who still do not know the righteousness of God and still have all their sins intact, we want to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the God-given gift of the remission of sin, and we want them to believe in this gospel. It is my heart’s desire for all of you to believe in God’s righteousness, and for your hearts to have peace flowing like a river.

Paul Gave Thanks to God Due to the Faith of the Righteous

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Paul, who believed in God’s righteousness, always rejoiced whenever the gospel containing the righteousness of God was preached all over the world. Like him, the righteous are thankful for their faith in God’s righteousness and His will. The righteous are rejoicing because the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit is now being spread vigorously throughout the entire world. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gospel of Truth that the Lord spoke of in John 3.

In John 3:5, the Lord said, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The water mentioned here refers to the baptism that Jesus received from John (1 Peter 3:21). The Spirit here implies that Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself, and that by believing in the baptism that Jesus received when He came to this earth to blot out our sins, in the death He suffered on the Cross and in His resurrection, we can become God’s people and enter and live in the Kingdom of God.

Why did the Apostle Paul say that he was thankful to God for the saints in Rome? There were two reasons for this. First, because the saints in Rome believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and by believing in this righteousness of God, they were saved form their sins. Second, it was because of the saints in Rome that the gospel was being preached throughout the whole world.

To preach the gospel in the Book of Romans, Paul often quotes from the Old Testament prophecies. He defines the righteousness of God as one which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, and he concludes that his calling is to make the Gentiles among all nations obey God by faith. After saying this, he praises God for the Christians in Rome. He does this because their fundamental faith was the very faith placed in the righteousness of God, and because they preached God’s righteousness to others as well.

The reason why the faith of the Roman Christians was pure is because they had defended their faith in God’s righteousness even in Rome. Rome was a place filled with pagan religions, and this is why Paul thanked God for the faith of the Christians living in Rome. This does not mean, however, that Paul began his epistle by exalting them for their devotion. Rather, Paul just gave glory to God for their faith. Christians in Rome were all born again by believing in the righteousness of God. Like this, the result of our faith in God’s righteousness makes us to be born again. Had the Christians in Rome fronted their own righteousness of man rather than God’s righteousness, Paul would have rebuked them. It was to the Christians in Rome who believed in the righteousness of God that Paul wrote his letter of fellowship.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

The Apostle Paul loved the brothers and sisters in Rome. He thanked God very much for the believers in Rome. Why? The fact that there were God’s people in Rome made Paul’s heart so happy. And because through Rome, he yearned to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit in which the righteousness of God was manifested throughout the whole world. So, Paul prayed constantly for the gospel, and for the people of God in Rome so that the gospel containing the righteousness of God would be preached throughout the whole world. In the end, Paul’s desire would be fulfilled.

Making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

A missionary who spreads the righteousness of God always prays and looks for the door of the gospel. And rather than working by himself, he wants to work united with others. Paul was a missionary to the Gentiles and a true spiritual father to them.

As the saints in Rome once again came to learn and know what the righteousness of God was through Paul, they came to cast aside the righteousness of man. Today, the entire world is also coming to believe in the righteousness of God manifested in the gospel preached by Paul through the Book of Romans. Through Paul, God made the gospel of the baptism of Jesus, His death on the Cross and His resurrection known to and heard by not only the Romans in Paul’s days, but people all over the world. Now as then, anyone who believes in God’s righteousness lacks nothing to become one of God’s people.

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established —

To establish the faith of everyone who believed in Jesus even more firmly, Paul wanted to share the gospel Word, the spiritual gift that contains the righteousness of God.

It is when we believe in the God-given gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that our faith is made even more solid; unshakable by any doubts. The reason for this is because in this true gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. When Paul saw the faith of the saints in Rome, he saw at least some need to strengthen it more. This is why he said that he wanted to impart some spiritual gift to them.

What, then, is this spiritual gift before God? It refers to the gospel of the water and the Spirit containing the righteousness of God, with which God has blotted out the sins of mankind. This God-given Word of the water and the Spirit fortifies Christians’ faith and enables them to be born again. If one believes in the gospel holding God’s righteousness and preached by Paul, an unstable faith is changed into a stable faith. Do you not also want to change your imperfect faith into perfect faith?

that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

The gospel of Truth preached by Paul and containing God’s righteousness brings peace and comfort to the minds of all who believe in it. That’s because the gospel preached by Paul is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The saints in Rome needed to be comforted by the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Paul’s heart, too, could always be comforted by the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that he preached.

Is the gospel that you believe in is a gospel that comforts your hearts? The Truth that can really bring peace and comfort to mankind is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This gospel is the gospel that both Peter and Paul, along with all the Apostles believed in (1 Peter 3:21; Galatians 3:27; and 1 John 5:6).

Prayers That Are Answered

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.

Paul wanted the gospel to bear fruit. He had covered very large areas as his mission field, preaching the gospel containing the righteousness of God in many different regions. And every time he did so, he had abundant spiritual fruit; that is, he had many people receive the perfect remission of their sins and become God’s sinless children by believing in God’s righteousness.

The gospel preached by Paul was different from the gospel preached by today’s religious people. The gospel that the Apostle Paul preached contained God’s righteousness. But in the gospel that is preached by today’s Christians, this righteousness of God is missing. The gospel of Truth that holds God’s righteousness is the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and any gospel that does not include the righteousness of God is an imperfect gospel. In the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, the baptism that Jesus received from John, His death on the Cross and His resurrection are all contained. However, in the gospel preached by today’s Christians, only His death on the Cross and His resurrection are found.

The Apostle Paul wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel containing the righteousness of God. But his way was blocked. Although the Apostle Paul longed to go to Rome, his prayers were not answered so easily. Like this, there are times when it seems as though God doesn’t answer the prayers of His saints and servants so easily, but God never fails to hear to them. God’s answer to Paul’s prayer may seem to have been somewhat reluctant, but it was just to make the situation in Rome ripe for Paul’s evangelical ministry, and to prepare his heart.

God wants wholehearted prayers. What, then, is a prayer that asks for truly spiritual things? It is a selfless prayer that’s offered for the preaching of the righteousness of God. There is no reason for such a prayer to go unanswered. All prayers that are given according to the righteousness of God are answered without fail. You may be disappointed when your prayers are not answered for a long time, but if you pray according to God’s righteousness, then your prayers will be answered right away. As such, if we have truly come into the faith that knows the righteousness of God, then our prayers will also be answered. Paul, too, entered Rome as his prayers were answered, and he preached the gospel containing God’s righteousness to people all over the world.

The Gospel Is Always for Everyone Who Is Poor in Spirit

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

Through his faith, Paul explains the gospel in which the righteousness of God is manifested. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Such a heart is one that can be had only by those who know the righteousness of God. As someone who had faith in the righteousness of God, Paul had the duty to preach the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit to everyone throughout the whole world. This responsibility weighed down his heart. That’s why he called himself a debtor. Even now, the believers in God’s righteousness desire to preach the gospel to people all over the world.

The gospel where God’s righteousness is manifested is always for all those who are poor in heart. Jesus Christ taught the gospel not only to the likes of Nicodemus, the privileged few