How Paul’s Epistle to the Romans Changed the World
The Epistle to the Romans, penned by the Apostle Paul, has repeatedly transformed the world by transforming individuals. Its message of God’s righteousness offered through Jesus Christ has sparked radical shifts in both personal lives and the course of church history.
One such example is John Stott, a 20th-century English pastor deeply impacted by Romans. The book’s stark portrayal of human sinfulness in Romans 1:18-3:20 revolutionized his approach to evangelism, shifting it from focusing on “felt needs” to emphasizing our core need for reconciliation with God.
Five centuries earlier, Romans ignited the Protestant Reformation through Martin Luther. As a monk, Luther felt condemned by his inability to live a righteous life. But Romans 1:17, revealing God’s righteousness as a gift received through faith. He wrote,
I labored diligently and anxiously as to how to understand Paul’s word … the expression ‘the righteousness of God’ blocked the way, because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous. Although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner … therefore I did not love a righteous and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him …
Then I grasped that the righteousness of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us by faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise … I broke through. And as I had formerly hated the expression ‘the righteousness of God,’ I now began to regard it as my dearest and most comforting word.
Luther Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
This brought Luther immense relief and sparked a theological revolution that reverberated throughout Europe. John Calvin, another Reformation leader, considered Romans his gateway to understanding Scripture’s deepest treasures. He echoed Luther’s emphasis on God’s merciful gift of righteousness through Christ, accessed by faith.
Even earlier, in the 4th century, Romans dramatically converted Augustine, a sex addict who had rejected his Christian upbringing. While wrestling with inner turmoil, he heard a child’s voice urging him to “pick up and read.” Opening Romans, he encountered Romans 13:13-14 urging him to put on Christ and reject sinful desires. This encounter brought him peace and transformed him into one of the most influential figures in Christian history.
The power of Romans lies in its clear articulation of the Gospel – the good news of God’s righteousness offered through Jesus’ life and death. This message has resonated across centuries, bringing freedom and transformation to countless individuals like Stott, Luther, Calvin, and Augustine. It continues to offer the same life-changing power to readers today, prompting us to examine our own understanding and experience of the Gospel’s liberating message.
What is your hope and prayer as you start this weekday devotional series through Romans 1-7?
My hope and prayer as we start this weekday devotional through Romans is that God would continue to transform my heart and the hearts of His people through the power of the gospel, that we would go out and bear fruit for His kingdom! I know that for me, it is so easy to forget the very real and practical implications of what God has done and is doing through His Son, and the impact that can and should have on how I live my daily life here and now! I pray that the theological truths contained within this book would take root in our hearts and transform our lives.
As I start this weekday devotional series through Romans 1-7, I hope to be spiritually and intellectually transformed through the message of the Gospel. I pray that the power of the Gospel, particularly through the Epistle, will guide me to becoming a better version of myself and becoming more aligned with what God envisioned righteousness to be on the earth He created.