Romans 1:5

Romans 15:33 is an interesting break in Paul’s great letter to the culturally diverse brethren who fellowshipped in the city of Rome (1:7). It is so abrupt that it marks a clear line between the main teaching component of the letter (1:14-15:32) and the salutations and quick words Paul sends to specific house churches in Rome (16:1-23).

Romans 15 marks the apostle Paul’s desire for continued mission work to Spain (15:28), where Christ has not been proclaimed (15:20-21; Isa 52:15). His belief in the power and influence of the prayers of the saints to be incorporated in the providence of God is clear from his pleas to his brethren to pray for him (15:30-32).

Moreover, Paul anticipates considerable opposition to his upcoming ministry to the “poor saints” in Jerusalem (15:26). Recalling that he had already been hindered to come to Rome before (15:22), he enlists his Roman brethren to pray on his behalf so that he make it to Rome (15:28) on his way to Spain, the “very ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Paul anticipates a joyful and refreshing environment to accompany his visit to Rome (15:32).

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

Romans 15:33 finalizes, then, Paul’s great desire to evangelize the world, cooperate with the Roman brethren in ministry, and to enjoy the power of fellowship. He closes this section of the letter with a prayer of blessing:

“May the God of peace be among all of you, Amen.” (Romans 15:33)

(1) Paul calls upon God. The text has no verb but it is supplied since it is a call for God to be among His people. In this prayer of blessing (i.e, a benediction), Paul calls upon their creator (1:19), their justifier (4:25-26), their savior (10:13-17), and their peacemaker (1:7, 5:1).

(2) Paul seeks for Peace. “The God of peace” speaks to character of God (i.e, “the Peaceful God”). This is a hebraic way of emphasizing God’s attribute of peace and harmony. Here, Paul alludes to the need the church has for harmony to overcome the internal turmoil it experienced.

(3) Paul desires that God blesses their fellowship. The focus of Paul’s prayer towards the Christians in Rome, is that God be among all of them (“among all of you”). There is no partiality in his prayer. This prayer calls attention to both our individual relationship with God, and His presence within the community of His people.

(4) Paul stamps his spiritual desire. “Amen” is a Hebrew phrase used to express a variety of ideas. As the counterpart to God’s “it shall be,” amen means, “let it be so” (Vine, et al., Expository Dictionary, 2:25). Most commonly, it is to express agreement to the content of a public prayer (1 Cor 14:16). The prayer ends with this call to agreement.

Are there troubles in your Christian life? Are there hinderances to things you want to do for Christ? Are there internal problems among us? Paul’s answer: Invoke the presence of God. We must include God in our private lives, and our church life, to become who God’s wants us to be. In turn we will become the church He intended us to be. So doing we will invite peace and harmony because the God of peace is among us. So, can I get an “Amen”?

Hymn: Praise the Lord

Many phrases summarize Paul’s letter to Rome such as justiﬁcation, righteousness, gospel, or God’s sovereignty. Another important phrase found in Romans is “obedience of faith” and bookends the letter at its beginning (1:5) and at its close (16:26). This is the desired result (“to bring about”) of the Father’s work of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Those seeking to enjoy the redemptive blessings of God’s righteousness and salvation are called to respond with a faith in God that is obedient to his call and his word (Rom 1:16–17). Paul’s quotation of Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous shall live by faith” (1:17), further establishes his point. This is the nature of biblical faith and when sharing the gospel it is imperative to remember that faith is not biblical if it is not obedient. This has signiﬁcant implications to the Christian’s efforts to share the victory message of the gospel with their neighbors.

The Shape of Faith

Words are the patterns by which people think. It is key, therefore, to clear the air on a common misconception. For some, faith resembles a blind leap into the dark. It is a gut feeling devoid of reason. Taken in this way, the only relationship between faith and reason is that they are on opposite poles that never touch. Furthermore, faith in God, the Bible as the word of God, or in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension are purely a feeling. It is pure ﬁdeism. Biblical faith is a response to evidence (Heb 11:1).

Biblical faith is both relational and responsive. Paul explains that the gospel of God is supported by a series of lines of evidence. The gospel was promised prophetically in the Old Testament (1:2) and centered on the Davidic lineage of Jesus (1:3) whose claim to being the Son of God is established by the resurrection from the dead (1:4). On this basis, the apostles are commissioned to share the gospel designed to induce an obedient faith from the world and the church (1:5–6). Faith relates to the worthiness of the evidence of the gospel message that God acted in the world through Jesus and his cross (2 Cor 5:18), and responds with actions that reﬂect that trust in God and the gospel.

Living by Faith

In Romans 1:16-17, Paul explains that faith is not only a ﬁrst response to the gospel but also frames the lifestyle of the Christian. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Roman letter hangs on his quotation of Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Paul evokes the contrast God makes in his response to a frustrated Habakkuk. The wicked live faithless and so digress into immorality (Hab 1:12–2:5). By contrast, the righteous organize their life by what faith in God requires (2:4). Two things are afﬁrmed here: (1) faith is anchored in God’s actions and word, and (2) faith reshapes one’s priorities and actions. Let us explore these two points a bit further.

First, when sharing the gospel it is imperative to anchor a person’s faith in God and his word. Biblical faith in God does not emerge without believing God exists and acts in history (Acts 14:15–17, 17:24–31), the Bible provides divine truth (Eph 3:4–5), and has sent his son as demonstration of his love (Rom 5:6–8). Indeed, this “obedience of faith” is reﬂected in the Genesis story of Abraham. Paul, by the Spirit, picks up on this in Romans 3–4, when he parallels the justifying faith of Abraham with the faith of the person who comes to obey God and walks before him in faith (3:21–26).

Indeed, “Abraham believed God” (Rom 4:3; Gen 15:6). Abraham was “fully convinced” that God was “able to do what he promised” (Rom 4:21). Until a person has a conviction in God and his word, saving faith has no fertile soil to blossom from (Rom 10:6–13; Mark 16:15–16).

Second, faith reshapes one’s priorities and actions. The words of Habakkuk are quoted two other times in the New Testament (Gal 3:11; Heb 10:37–38). In each passage, there is an emphasis that biblical faith — saving faith — reshapes the Christian’s priorities. In Galatians, Paul argues that faith provides access to the gift of the Spirit. In Hebrews, the writer afﬁrms that because of faith the converted believer can endure hardships because their priorities have changed. It is written,

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6).

Personal faith is nurtured through the study of the scriptures and leads gospel obedience (Rom 6:17–18; 1 Thess 2:13). As Jesus afﬁrmed,

“It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me” (John 6:45).

Concluding Thoughts

In order to show the difference between “agreement” and “faith,” evangelist Windell Fikes learned to asked: (1) “Do you believe what the Bible says?,” (2) “Do you want to do what the Bible says?,” and (3) “Do you want to do what the Bible says right now?” In other words, biblical faith is expressed in obedience to God’s word.

Jesus would say,