Romans 1:16-17 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:8-17

The policy to be pursued in case Paul came to Rome. We tried to appreciate in our last homily the character of the Church to which Paul directed this Epistle. We now pass to the policy he meant to pursue should he ever reach Rome; and which he embodies also in this Epistle. One or two preliminary matters, however, will prepare us for the climax in the paragraph before us. And— I. PAUL LIFTS THE VEIL AND SHOWS HIMSELF AT HIS PRAYERS . It is a case of intercession.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:14-17

The gospel a message for every one. Narrow views of the gospel are very common. Amongst the very wealthy, what an erroneous idea often exists about the gospel and its claims! They think that religion may do very well for the poor, but they have no need of it. Amongst the very poor, on the other hand, you will often find the idea that religion may do very well for respectable people, but that it has nothing to do with them. Then, again, you will meet with a certain class of intellectual... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:15-16

Glorying in the gospel. It was not through any shrinking from either publicity or persecution, criticism or cruelty, that Paul had not, up to the date of writing this letter, visited Rome. Circumstances, in which he recognized the action of Divine providence, had hitherto hindered him from carrying his wish into effect. And now it was the holy ambition of his daring and benevolent heart to publish the gospel of Christ in the metropolis of the empire, of the world. I. THERE WERE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel ( of Christ, in the Authorized Version, is very weakly supported by manuscripts; neither is it required), for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and to the Greek . In saying he was "not ashamed," St. Paul may have had in his mind our Lord's own words ( Mark 8:38 and Luke 9:26 .) We are reminded in this verse of the passage, 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 , where the idea here shortly intimated is enlarged... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

"Not ashamed of the gospel." When these words were written by St. Paul, Christianity did not occupy in the world the position that it does now. In the mind of the ordinary Roman, the Jew was regarded almost always with contempt. And when the Christian was at all distinguished from the Jew, it was only to be the subject of more reproachful terms. Some of the most eminent and well-informed of the Roman writers speak of the Christian religion as a pernicious and detestable superstition. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

Glorying in the gospel For many reasons the apostle might be supposed ashamed to preach the gospel at Rome. He had been long delayed from fulfilling his purpose to visit that city. The "good news" centred in the mission of a Jew, belonging to a race despised by their masterful conquerors. The story of the cross could not fail to excite ridicule when the Romans heard that this Messiah had been rejected by his own countrymen, and handed over to an ignominious death, and that his disciples... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16-17

Not ashamed! Why should he be ashamed? The great metropolis of a world-empire, with its wide-reaching power and permeating law; and he and his gospel! What a contrast it might seem! and how the supercilious Romans might overwhelm him with contempt! For they were not, as the Athenians, ever desirous to hear some new thing. And his gospel? it would be their laughing-stock. Nay, he shall not be ashamed. He will take his stand in the very centre of Rome's power, and at her fountain-head of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:17

This verse, though connected in sequence of thought with the preceding verse, may properly be taken in conjunction with the doctrinal argument which follows, serving, in fact, as its thesis. For the righteousness of God is therein revealed from (or, by ) faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous by (or, from ) faith shall live . It is to be observed that ἐκ is the preposition before πίστεως in both clauses of the sentence, though our Authorized Version makes a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:17

The new righteousness. The apostle was justified in his boasting in the gospel, because of the high end it was the means of securing—nothing less than the salvation of men. This salvation it is his aim, in this Epistle, to set in its true light. It is a moral, a spiritual deliverance; an enfranchisement of the soul; an opening of the prison doors; a healing radical, thorough, and lasting. A righteous God can only be reconciled with sinful, disobedient men by communicating to them his own... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed ... - The Jews had cast him off, and regarded him as an apostate; and by the wise among the Gentiles he had been persecuted, and despised, and driven from place to place, and regarded as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things 1 Corinthians 4:13, but still he was not ashamed of the gospel. He had so firm a conviction of its value and its truth; he had experienced so much of its consolations; and had seen so much of its efficacy; that he was so far from... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:8-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:14-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:15-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:16-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 1:17

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Romans 1:16

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