In A.D. 49, an event took place that forced many Christians in Rome to leave the city. The Roman emperor Claudius issued a decree kicking out the city’s entire Jewish population, which included Jewish Christians. Before this decree, the church in Rome had both Jewish and Gentile members. But while the decree was in effect, the Roman church became completely Gentile. This state of affairs didn’t last long, though. Claudius died five years later, his decree lapsed, and Jews started returning to the city. This meant the church in Rome went from being all-Gentile to once again having a mix of Jewish and Gentile members. Jews and Gentiles had different religious backgrounds and approached the Christian message with different frameworks in mind. These differences were a frequent source of tension in the early church, and the church in Rome was no exception. A few years after Jews began returning to Rome, Paul wrote the letter to the Roman church that we now call Romans. Paul addresses both groups in the church directly, reminding them of the gospel they have heard, which he says is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,” (Romans 1:16, ESV, bolding added). The first 11 chapters of Romans are about the gospel. Chapters 12-16 of Romans are about how the Christians in Rome should live in accordance with that gospel. When the Christians in Rome needed instruction on how to live righteously and how to heal their divisions, Paul brought them back to the gospel. Last year, I preached a sermon here about the gospel that was simply entitled, “What is the Gospel?” This morning, I’ll preach a follow-up entitled “Living the Gospel” about how the gospel should affect what we consider important and how we live. The seven-point summary I gave last year of the gospel is below. To God be the glory.
1. Jesus is Lord
2. There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
3. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
4. The church is the body and bride of Christ
5. We are sinful and need forgiveness, which is available in Christ
6. The Gift of the Holy Spirit
7. Our Hope of Resurrection
– Johnny Galloway
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