The Bridge ยท Explore the Bible
True Power
Romans 1:13-25 | CSB
The Bridge ยท First Baptist Church Minden ยท September 6, 2026 ยท Taught by Joe
The gospel alone has the power to remove the guilt of humanity's sin.
Pronunciation Key
This week's passage has no unfamiliar proper names. A few recurring quarter-long terms are noted for reference.
| Term | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Romans | ROH-muhnz | Paul's letter to the church in Rome; written from Corinth, c. mid-AD 50s |
| Gentiles | JEN-tyles | Non-Jewish people; Paul's primary mission field |
| Illyricum | ih-LEER-ih-kuhm | Region Paul references later in Romans (15:19), the edge of his missionary travels |
Starting a New Series
This is Session 1 of a brand-new 13-session study of Romans โ there's no prior week to recap. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome, a congregation he had not yet visited, most likely from Corinth near the end of his third missionary journey (c. mid-AD 50s).
Paul's opening seven verses (1:1-7) identify himself as a servant and apostle of the gospel, then greet the Roman believers, followed by thanksgiving and prayer for them (1:8-12) โ which sets up today's passage: Paul explaining why he has long wanted to visit them in person.
Reading Assignments
- PSG ReaderPage 10 โ opening paragraph ("All of us have experienced the power of good news...")
- Reader 1Romans 1:13-17 โ Paul's long-held desire to visit Rome and preach the gospel there
- Reader 2Romans 1:18-20 โ God's wrath revealed against those who suppress the truth
- Reader 3Romans 1:21-25 โ humanity's downward spiral from rejecting God to worshiping creation
Setting the Scene
Romans 1:1-12
Paul's letter to the Romans begins the way first-century letters typically did: naming the sender, the recipients, and a greeting. Paul expanded on this convention by adding information about himself and his mission (1:1-7), then followed his greeting with thanksgiving and prayer for the Roman believers (1:8-12) โ telling them he had prayed frequently for the chance to visit. He gives three reasons: to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them, to be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, and to have a fruitful ministry among them like he'd had elsewhere. Today's passage picks up right where that explanation continues.
Hook โ The Power of Good News
Ask the class: "What's a memorable good-news moment you've had, and how did it affect you?" (PSG, p. 10)
Let a few people share. Point out that good news has real power โ it turns an ordinary day into one we'll always remember, changes how we feel, and often changes what we do next. That's the bridge into today's passage: Paul says the gospel is the best news there is, because it carries the power of God for salvation.
Alternate illustration, if helpful: a stain that simply won't come out no matter how hard you scrub โ until something with real power (the right cleaner) removes it completely. The gospel alone has that kind of power over the guilt of sin; nothing we scrub with on our own will ever get it out.
Teaching Points
Gospel Power
Romans 1:13-17
13Now I don't want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
Key Truth: The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes โ and that truth should shape our confidence in sharing it.
Paul had wanted to visit Rome for a long time, but his Spirit-led missionary work in the eastern part of the empire kept him occupied โ he wasn't neglecting the Roman believers, he was following where God had already opened doors. His obligation to preach wasn't a burden he dragged around; he took hold of it with wholehearted enthusiasm, eager to reach Greek and non-Greek, sophisticated and simple alike. Verse 16 is the hinge of the whole letter: Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation, for Jew and Greek alike โ good news with no boundaries. Verse 17 grounds that claim in Habakkuk 2:4: "the righteous will live by faith," the thesis Paul spends the rest of Romans unpacking.
Worth noting: "obligated" (Gk. opheiletฤs) is debt language โ the same word family used for an actual financial debt owed. Paul isn't describing a feeling; he's saying the gospel put him in debt to everyone who hasn't heard it. And "not ashamed" isn't a throwaway line โ in Rome's honor-and-shame culture, a message centered on a man crucified as a criminal was the least respectable thing you could preach. Paul says it anyway, because the gospel's power (dynamis โ the root of our word "dynamite") never depended on how respectable it sounded.
Something to consider: if the gospel's power was never ours to generate in the first place, what does that actually free us from โ and what does it not excuse us from?
Key Doctrine โ Evangelism and Missions: It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
Discussion: How does remembering that the gospel is "the power of God for salvation" change your confidence in sharing it?
๐ Discussion answers post the day after class โ check back tomorrow.
- It takes the pressure off us โ we're not the ones who have to make the gospel powerful; God already has.
- It reframes rejection: if someone doesn't respond, that's not proof the message failed, since the power was never ours to begin with.
- It turns "witnessing" from a performance into simply delivering news that's already true and already powerful.
- It gives boldness in awkward or intimidating conversations, since our confidence rests in the message, not our delivery.
- It reminds us the gospel is for everyone โ Jew and Greek, wise and foolish โ so no one is outside its reach or beneath the effort.
Divine Revelation
Romans 1:18-20
18For God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
Key Truth: We can point others toward God through what He has revealed in His creation.
Paul pivots from the gospel's power (vv. 16-17) to humanity's need for it (vv. 18-32). God's wrath isn't a loss of temper โ it's His appropriate response to sin, directed at those who suppress the truth they've been shown. Verse 20 is the key claim: God's eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen in creation itself, so no one can plead ignorance. This is sometimes called "general revelation," as opposed to the "special revelation" of Scripture and the person of Jesus, which is necessary for salvation, even though general revelation alone is enough to leave everyone without excuse. Ordinary things โ a newborn baby, a sunrise, the food on our table โ are evidence of God's presence and provision, available to everyone, every day.
Paul isn't just making an observation here โ he's building a legal case. "Without excuse" (v. 20) is courtroom language, the first plank in an argument that runs all the way to Romans 3:19, where "the whole world" stands "accountable to God." David makes the same observation from the other direction in Psalm 19:1-4: creation has no literal words, yet its voice reaches everyone. Paul later makes this same appeal in person, standing among the altars of Athens (Acts 17:24-28) โ general revelation isn't just a doctrine here, it's an argument he actually used with unbelievers.
Something to consider: general revelation is enough to leave someone without excuse, but it was never enough to save anyone โ that takes the special revelation of the gospel itself. What does that distinction change about how urgently we share it?
Discussion: How are God's invisible attributes displayed through creation? How should that influence the way you live each day?
๐ Discussion answers post the day after class โ check back tomorrow.
- God's power and order are visible in the vastness and precision of creation โ from galaxies to a single cell.
- His providential care shows up in ordinary provision: food, sunlight, the rhythms of the seasons.
- His creativity and beauty are on display everywhere, not just in what's useful but in what's simply beautiful.
- It should produce daily gratitude rather than taking the world around us for granted.
- It should give us confidence that unbelievers already have some awareness of God โ we're not starting from zero when we share the gospel.
- It should humble us: if creation alone leaves people without excuse, how much more responsibility do we carry who have the full gospel?
Worthless Thinking
Romans 1:21-25
21For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
Key Truth: Rejecting God ultimately leads to devastating consequences.
Paul traces a downward spiral: people knew God (through general revelation) but refused to glorify Him or give thanks. That refusal didn't leave a neutral vacuum โ their thinking became worthless and their hearts were darkened. Claiming wisdom, they became fools, trading the glory of the immortal God for idols shaped like the very creatures God had made. Verse 24's "God delivered them over" is a judgment of abandonment, not simple anger โ God gave people what they insisted on choosing. The pattern repeats three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 26, 28): reject the Creator, and God hands people over to the consequences of that rejection. Verse 25 names the root of it all: they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Every specific sin that follows traces back to that one exchange.
Watch the Greek and you'll notice verse 24 isn't a one-time statement โ "God gave them over" (paredลken) repeats three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 26, 28), and Paul builds the whole passage around that refrain. Each repetition marks another stage of the same downward hand-off: reject God, and He confirms the choice rather than overriding it. This connects to what theologians call the noetic effect of sin โ the idea that rejecting God doesn't just corrupt behavior, it corrupts the mind's ability to think clearly about God at all ("their thinking became worthless," v. 21). That's sobering for evangelism: unbelief isn't only the will resisting truth, but a mind that's lost some capacity to see truth clearly โ itself an argument for depending on the Spirit's work, not just better arguments.
Something to consider: if verse 25 names the root sin as exchanging truth for a lie, what specific exchange might our own culture โ or our own hearts โ be making right now without recognizing it as an exchange at all?
Discussion: How do people exchange truth for lies today โ and how might you be tempted to do the same?
๐ Discussion answers post the day after class โ check back tomorrow.
- Trading trust in God's design for whatever feels true or right in the moment ("my truth" over God's truth).
- Worshiping created things โ success, relationships, comfort, even good things โ in place of the Creator.
- Rationalizing sin by convincing ourselves the consequences won't apply to us.
- Letting a culture of constant self-affirmation crowd out honest self-examination.
- Choosing convenient silence about God's truth rather than risking an uncomfortable conversation.
- Drifting rather than deciding โ no single dramatic rejection of God, just years of small compromises.
Close & Challenge
Review these points from Apply the Text (PSG, p. 18): believers seek opportunities to share the gospel's power with those who need it; we can point others toward God through what He has revealed in His creation; rejecting God ultimately leads to devastating consequences. There are no excuses for idolatry today, just like in Paul's day โ every person can see what God has created and can make a choice to worship Him. Spend time this week examining your own life and identifying areas where you're prone to honor creation rather than the Creator who gave you His gospel.
Memorize
Romans 1:16 (CSB)
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."
Quick Reference โ Timing
| Time | Segment |
|---|---|
| 0:00โ0:03 | Welcome & Prayer |
| 0:03โ0:10 | Hook โ the power of good news |
| 0:10โ0:20 | Point 1 โ Gospel Power (1:13-17) |
| 0:20โ0:30 | Point 2 โ Divine Revelation (1:18-20) |
| 0:30โ0:40 | Point 3 โ Worthless Thinking (1:21-25) |
| 0:40โ0:44 | Close & Challenge |
| 0:44โ0:45 | Closing Prayer |
Supporting Scriptures