(Rom 1:9) “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,…”  Your soul is the real you, your consciousness. It has been housed in a physical body from the day of your birth. At the moment of salvation, you was given a spiritual body, a living abiding connection with God Who is Spirit. To serve God in the flesh is to do as we will, what we want. To serve God in the spirit is to submit to Him doing what He desires. How can I tell which it is I am doing? Answer: serving in the spirit is always the Lord first, others second, me last.  

(Rom 1:8) “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”  These had “lived the faith” to such a degree that the effect of its message, or at the least its followers, were the topic of discussion everywhere. Would to God people were moved to speak of our individual devotion to our precious Jesus our Savior!   

Rom 1:7) “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The saved dwell in the grace of God bestowed through Jesus our Lord. “Peace” between each of us and God is the result, for He is now our Father.

(Rom 1:7) “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:…..”   In your KJV Bible you will find the words “to be” italicized. This tells us it was not in the original text. So, the text reads, “called saints”.  “Saint” comes from the root word “holy”: anything separated unto God. Through the born again experience, the blood payment applied, the new Child of God is now rightly a “Saint”.

(Rom 1:7) “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:…..”  Simple logic dictates it is the saved who are being addressed here, not “all that be in Rome”. Because we spend so much time among fellow fallen creatures, we like them, emotionally go up and down, each to varying degrees. So, after being saved a long time, we can at times doubt God’s love, being so influenced by inconsistent believers. Never doubt it! You are “beloved of God”! He changes not (at all).

(Rom 1:6) “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:”  Who are the “called”? Those who hearing respond with faithful following. You see, He Who called, saved. And the saved are sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit. And the sealed are prompted to faithfully, all their spiritual life, to keep on keeping on.

(Rom 1:5) “By Whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His Name:”  Where does setting forth the Lord Jesus as preeminent, stand in my life? “For His Name”. My life, my very next breath, is on loan from God Who can take it or all I have in the next moment. Yet, is it me, or He, who is the focus of “my” life? God help me to receive and “hold to” a right view of self. Lord give me an overwhelming devotion to “His Name”. 

(Rom 1:5)  “By Whom (Jesus) we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations,…”  Consider that phrase, “obedience to the faith”. The Scriptures teach there is not true faith without obedience. Some claim Christianity without a shred of visible obedience. Such a claim is false. Salvation brings to us the love of the Holy Spirit for our Savior and God. It brings a desire to be obedient.

(Rom 1:5) “By whom we have received grace and apostleship,….”  “Apostle”: sent one.  Well, we are not apostles, chosen personally and sent out by the Lord Jesus. But we are “sent out” to tell the glorious good news – the gospel – of sins paid and salvation through repentance. Your commission and mine (Matt 28:18-20).  Add the gospel to your thankful expressions today!   

(Rom 1:5) “By whom we have received grace….”  The grace (favor we receive but do not deserve) by which we receive salvation and day by day blessings, is all because of Jesus. It is because of His sinless life, He offering of Himself to die in your place, and it is because of His victory over the grave (v.4). I do not stand by any merit of my own. My merit is my Savior!