Romans Chapter 1 (part 2)

If this is your first time receiving Covered in His Dust, welcome.

I’d love to hear where you’re reading from.
Just reply and let me know.

Before you dive into my notes, I encourage you to read Chapter 1 first.

I include all the Scripture below, but there’s something about sitting with the whole chapter on your own first — giving yourself room to be curious.

What catches you off guard?
What doesn't make sense?
Where is that?
Who's that?
Why?

Those questions will make the notes hit deeper.

"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."

May you be covered in His dust.

Good morning, Saints.

We’ve turned the page.
Acts is behind us and Rome is in front of us.

Paul was still free, and still in Corinth, when he picked up his pen to write the most important letter of his life, a foundation so strong we’re still standing on it today.

Everything Paul had seen, suffered, and believed was poured out onto the pages of Romans.

This letter was a call.
To the saints in Rome and to the saints reading now.

To live by faith.
To give your life to Jesus.
To rise up and carry the truth to the ends of the earth.

Let’s get into it.

There’s so much to cover here.

What was promised beforehand?
The gospel of God was promised beforehand.

What’s the gospel of God?
The gospel of God is about the Son of God.
It’s the story of His life, death, and resurrection, God’s plan to rescue and redeem the world through Jesus Christ.

The gospel fulfills what God has already begun.

The Old Testament, through the prophets, was pointing to Jesus.
Right there.
Hundreds of years before Bethlehem.

It’s all connected.

The same God who spoke through Moses and the prophets is the one who sent His Son.

The old covenant pointed forward.
The new one completes it.

Before Jesus ever took on flesh, He already existed.
He’s always been.

The disciple John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” —John 1:1

That’s who Paul is talking about.
The eternal Son.

The One who shaped the stars, was born beneath them.

The gospel isn’t about God fixing the world from a distance.
It’s about God’s saving work through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to rescue us.

All through the Old Testament, God kept pointing to a King who would come through David’s line.

He told King David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” —2 Samuel 7:16

The prophets repeated that promise again and again.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit.” —Isaiah 11:1

“I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” —Jeremiah 23:5

Even the angel who spoke to Mary confirmed it:

“The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.” —Luke 1:32-33

An Israelite king.
A man after God’s own heart.
A giant slayer.

Jesus is in THAT line and fulfilled centuries of prophecy.

The Son of God stepped into human history as the rightful King.
The throne of David found its true and eternal ruler.

Did you catch that?

Between verse 3 and verse 4, something happened.
Something impossible.

A Son,
born in the line of David,
according to the flesh.

The promised Messiah.

Died.

No one expected that.
Not the crowds who shouted hosanna.
Not the disciples who left everything to follow Him.
Not the nation waiting for a King.

They thought He would crush Rome.
They pictured a throne in Jerusalem.
They thought the Messiah would come with power, with armies, authority, and political strength.

Messiahs don’t die.

They rule.
They conquer.
They reign forever.

So when the Son of David, the one they thought would redeem Israel, was arrested, beaten, mocked, and crucified,

their
world
fell
apart.

“But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.” —Luke 24:21

Everything they believed seemed lost.

The Son of David died,
and then,
the Son of God rose.

The resurrection didn’t make Him the Son of God.
It declared Him to be who He already was.

We are so familiar with the resurrection.

As Christians, we’ve heard it our whole lives.
We sing about it.
We celebrate it every Easter.

But imagine hearing it for the first time.

Someone claiming to be the Messiah,
and then people start saying He came back from the dead?

That must have sounded insane.

To the Jews, death wasn’t just tragic, it was unclean.
Touching a corpse made you ceremonially defiled.
Death represented separation, judgment, and sin.

So for followers of Jesus to go around saying, “He’s alive,” “He rose,” “He walked out of the tomb,” must have sounded blasphemous.

To them, it wasn’t just impossible.
It was offensive.
Demonic, even.

The idea of resurrection flipped everything they thought they knew about God, life, and purity upside down.

And that’s what makes it so beautiful. Because the thing they thought was unclean, death, became the very place God’s power was revealed.

The crucified Messiah was revealed in power, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God didn’t choose a man.
He chose His Son to become a man.

The word grace shows up 155 times in the New Testament.
Paul uses it more than anyone, and twenty-four of those are right here in Romans.

If you miss what grace means, you’ll miss the heartbeat of this book.

It’s not a theme.
It’s the pulse of the gospel.
The very heart of God.

But what is grace?

An athlete moves with grace: effortless beauty and control.
A teacher gives another chance after you blew it.
Someone shows kindness when they didn’t have to.

That’s the grace the world sees.

But Paul’s talking about something deeper.

It’s the strength and mercy God gives when we don’t deserve it.
It’s what changes the heart, then empowers the hands.
Grace isn’t payment for good work. It’s power to do good work.

Paul received grace for apostleship.

I’ve received grace to be a father of nine.
Grace to serve as a missionary.
Grace to adopt five little ones.

Different callings. Same grace.

It’s free.
It’s undeserved.
It comes through Christ.

All for one reason:

For the sake of His name among all nations.

We can’t skip over this.
It’s important.

Why would the God of the universe want His name to be recognized?

At first, it sounds strange that God would want His name glorified.
But it’s not pride.
It’s love.

Think of it this way.

If a doctor discovered the cure for cancer, silence would be cruel.
Love would shout his name so the dying could find him.

God’s name is that cure.

It carries His mercy, His character, His saving power.
When He lifts up His name, He’s lifting up the only hope we have.

That’s why His name matters.
That’s why He wants it known.

He’s a Savior—making sure the world knows where to find Him.

Paul’s wording is intentionally wide.
He just finished saying the gospel is for all nations.
Then he adds,

Including you.

When Paul wrote this, he was speaking directly to the believers in Rome.
But what he said extends to every believer, everywhere.

It’s his way of saying, “You’re part of the story too. Not just Rome. Not just Israel. Everyone who’s heard His call and responded in faith belongs to Jesus Christ.”

Paul didn’t write this for scholars.
He wrote it for believers.
People with doubts and weaknesses and need.

People like us.
Still called.
Still loved.

And we’re only six verses in.

I love you,

George
Uncovering Scripture

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George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.

He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 27 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.

In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.

You can get George’s newest digital book, Uncovering Scripture: The Gospel of Luke HERE.