Romans 1:16 has been called one of the greatest verses in Scripture. Here we see that Paul is “Not Ashamed” of the gospel, rather he glories in the good news of Jesus Christ more than anything else in his life. These truths have sunk into his heart, and into the marrow of his bones. Now, he longs for others to share in the joys of the gospel, both in this life and in the life to come.

Our passage this morning takes us back to the very beginning of Christ’s official ministry on earth. Just to recap briefly, since it has been a minute since we have been in Mark, the story in Mark picks up in chapter 1, verse 1, with John the Baptist’s ministry, and then it quickly progresses through Jesus’s baptism and his temptation in the wilderness, and then today into the beginning of his ministry and the calling of the first disciples.

In Romans 1:8-15 we find a window into the “Great Gospel Expectations” that Paul has planned for the church in Rome. He is thankful yet not satisfied. He is prayerful, yet not idle. These verses call us to think, pray, and labor for the strengthening of Christ’s body, so that the church may become all the Lord has called her to be.

The Apostle Paul repeats the word peace eleven times in the letter to the Roman church, and never once is it used in a random or tertiary way. Rather, there is a logical flow to how he wants us to understand the comprehensive peace that is meant to mark the life of every believer, and the order of how it is used is vital.

Romans 1:7 greets us and blesses us. It rings out truth and assures us of things that we are meant to deeply know. Specifically, we learn here that the grace and peace of God are given through Jesus Christ and fill the life of each believer.

The emphasis of the part of Romans 1:7 we are studying is seen first in who is it that has called us to be saints, namely God himself. But second, it is a summons for God’s people to live different from the world they live in.

In Romans 1:6-7 we find a trio of beautiful truths that help us understand who we are and whose we are as the people of God. Following his personal introduction and familiarizing his readers to the substance of his letter, Paul now turns to addresses his audience. He writes to all those in Rome, but more specifically to, “A People Called and Loved.”