(30 minutes)
Teacher Note: We have studied Paul’s life in Acts for the last few weeks. Now we turn to the most famous of his epistles, Romans. An epistle is a formal, first-century letter, and Paul wrote this epistle to the church at Rome to gain their support for his proposed missionary journey to Spain (Romans 15:24), introduce his doctrine to them before his visit (Romans 15:23), request their prayers (Romans 15:30-32), and address specific issues in the church (Romans 15:15). Today the students will learn in Romans 1 that God has called them to join God’s mission by sharing the Gospel, which saves people from God’s wrath.
We have been called to join God’s mission. Ask for a student volunteer to read Romans 1:1-7. Paul begins his letter to the church at Rome with a theologically rich introduction. First, he introduced himself as a “servant of Christ Jesus”—humble words for a prominent leader of the church (Romans 1:1). He next reminded his readers that the Jesus-focused Gospel he shared fulfilled the Scriptures. Then he explained that he had through Jesus “received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5). Paul had a calling to share Jesus’ message with the nations.
Paul was not speaking generally here. The Lord had actually revealed in Acts that Paul was His “chosen instrument . . . to carry [His] name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). In other words, Paul had not been saved so that he could live his life the same way as before. Rather, he had been saved through Jesus for Jesus so that he could call others to God. God had saved Paul to join His mission.
You and I have probably never heard God’s audible voice call us to do something. But the principle remains: God saves us through Jesus for His glory so that we can join in His mission. For example, God chose Abraham so that through his offspring “all the nations of the earth [would] be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). He chose Moses so that he could “bring [God’s] people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). And He chose us for a reason too.
You can join in God’s mission by doing extraordinary things, such as serving as a globe-trotting church planter like Paul. Yet you can also join in God’s mission by being faithful in ordinary things, such as letting your godly life be a testimony in a sinful world, investing in your relationships with unsaved people, and sharing His Good News with others. We all have been saved for a purpose: to join in God’s mission.
What is a practical way you can join in God’s mission? Read and discuss the following passages: Psalm 96:3; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-48; and Acts 1:8.
We can join God’s mission by sharing the Gospel. Ask for a student volunteer to read Romans 1:8-17. After Paul introduced himself, he thanked God for their faith, prayed for them, and expressed his desire to visit them in person. Next, he explained the content of his Gospel message. This Gospel, Paul explained, is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The Gospel contains this power because it reveals “the righteousness of God” by faith (Romans 1:17).
The Gospel was the reason Paul had a calling in the first place, and it was the reason he wanted to visit them. It was gloriously Good News for it offered “the righteousness of God.” Why is this righteousness such a big deal? We (like Paul’s readers) are naturally inclined to pursue righteousness on our own. We want to make God accept us by doing good things and trying to avoid bad things. Ultimately, we hope that in the end we have done more good than bad. But this hope is desperately flawed. First, we are not as good as we think we are. Paul later wrote that “none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10b). Even our good actions are perverted by selfishness. Second, God is too holy and morally perfect to allow any sin to go unpunished. Even if we could tip the scales in our favor, we still would not be righteous enough to earn heaven.
Enter the Gospel. The Gospel tells us that though we are not good enough, Jesus—who was God in the flesh—came to earth and lived the righteous life we could not. And though we deserve punishment, Jesus took our place and endured the punishment for sin we deserve. Thus if we turn from our sins and place our faith in Jesus, we can gain Jesus’ righteousness, the very righteousness Paul is talking about in this passage, and Jesus can take the penalty for our sins.
That is why the Gospel is the power of salvation to all who believe. It tells us that we are not good enough, nor can we do enough good things to get to heaven. But we can trust in the only one who did.
What kind of righteousness are you pursuing? If you are trying to earn your way into heaven, you will either become deceived (because you think this task is possible) or depressed (because you know this task is impossible). Yet Jesus can give you hope by offering you His righteousness.
Are you trying to earn your way into heaven? Read and discuss the following passages: Romans 3:21-26 and Ephesians 2:1-10.
We share the Gospel to save people from God’s wrath. Ask for a student volunteer to read Romans 1:18-23. The fact that we need saving points to one thing: we have a problem. The problem, as Paul explained, is that God reveals his wrath against “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18). Our sin yields the most severe consequence: God’s wrath.
Paul explains that God is not being unfair. God has made Himself “plain” to the world. His “eternal power and divine nature” are evident in creation. The world is “without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Yet though people know about God, they do not worship Him. Their unrighteousness “suppress[es] the truth” (Romans 1:18). And instead of worshiping the immortal God, they give their lives to lesser things (Romans 1:23). As a result, they deserve God’s wrath.
This scary truth is why the Gospel is necessary. God has made Himself known to us. He has given us an innate belief that He exists, and He has gifted us with the Bible to reveal His character to us. But on our own, all of us choose something else other than God. We reject the Creator to worship His creation. We ignore God’s love for our own self-centeredness. We exchange God’s lasting joy for sin’s fleeting pleasure. We trade God-given peace for sin’s momentary rush of adrenaline. Ultimately, we give up enduring hope for utter hopelessness. What is worse, we usually know the consequences of our actions, and we know what we should do. But we choose sin over God anyway and actively resist or oppose the truth.
What Paul describes in these verses is a frightening spiral. It has happened in human history, and it happens in each of our lives. But the Gospel offers us hope. If you are not a Christian and you are stuck in this hopelessness, the Gospel is your cure. When you confess your sins to God and trust in Him, the Holy Spirit will enter your life and help redirect your affections to the one who deserves your worship—and will never let you down.
If you are a Christian and you find yourself falling into old patterns of sin (like those Paul describes), the Gospel is your remedy too. Confess your sins to God. Remember that Jesus has already paid for them on the cross. And pursue Christ wholeheartedly through personal times of Bible reading and prayer, allowing your local church to invest in you, and inviting a fellow Christian to help keep you accountable.
Yes, our sin deserves God’s wrath. But Jesus has offered us rescue through the Gospel. This message was the foundation of Paul’s letter to the Romans, and it can be the foundation of your life.
Will you endure God’s wrath or have you received God’s righteousness? Read and discuss the following passages: Romans 1:24-32, 3:23-24, and 5:8.
God had a specific calling to share the Gospel with the nations, and we too have been called to join in God’s mission. The content of our message is the Gospel, which offers us Jesus’ righteousness. The reason why we need the Gospel is because we all deserve God’s wrath for our sin.