Romans 1:7

To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

All that be in Rome ... need not be restricted in meaning. As Macknight wrote:

This epistle being written to persuade the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles to embrace the gospel, as exhibiting the only effectual method of salvation, it was fitly addressed to the whole inhabitants of Rome, to the heathens as well as to the Jews and Christians.[12]

Beloved of God ... here has that great New Testament word for "love," [Greek: agape]. A supreme consciousness of such great love underlies every word of this great epistle; and, again and again, some reference to it surfaces in the main body of the letter. God's great love for man is the reason for the Cross itself, where Christ died for all, "while we were yet sinners" (Romans 5:8) and even "when we were enemies" (Romans 5:10). So great love is shed abroad in the hearts of Christians by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), and nothing in the whole universe can ever separate Christians from God's great love (Romans 8:35-39). As Greathouse put it, "When Paul addresses the Christians as `God's beloved,' he uses the word in its deepest and most inclusive sense."[13]

Called to be saints ... Here we have the same gratuitous insertion of "to be" which was noted in verse 1; and, again, the meaning is more evident without the insertion. It is the invariable New Testament teaching that Christians are not merely called to be saints, but they are so. They are called "saints," "holy," and "holy ones." But, of course, the word "saint" has been so abused by the historical church as to have almost totally lost its true meaning. The restriction of the term as a title for dead Christians who have been canonized is a contradiction of the New Testament meaning of the word; but the perverted meaning is so widely received that one is tempted to agree with Lard who wrote that "The word `saint' should be wholly dropped from the sacred page. It is too vague and too much abused to be tolerated longer."[14]

Another word with reference to "saints" is in order. There is no apostolic assertion of moral perfection in the apostolic application of the term to the Christians in Rome. They were thus designated out of respect to the ideals they had accepted and were striving to attain, rather than from any certainty that those sacred ideals had actually been achieved. Yet they were very properly addressed as "holy," because that was a means of inspiring them to greater purity and of keeping them in constant remembrance of their sacred duties as Christians. This divine acceptance of the Christian for what he is trying to become, rather than merely for what he is, appears as a dispensation of God's grace, and is frequently emphasized in Paul's letters. For example, it would be hard to imagine a church with more imperfections and outright sins than the church in Corinth; yet, even of them, Paul wrote, "I thank my God always concerning you"! (1 Corinthians 1:4). Moreover, they too, just like the Romans, were "called saints"! (1 Corinthians 2).

Grace to you and peace ... Scholars have noted that Paul's greeting combines the usual Greek salutation with the customary Hebrew greeting, thus forming a more noble greeting with the highest Christian implications, and yet retaining the best features of both the old ones. The usual Greek salutation, according to Greathouse, was [@thairein] (greeting). He wrote thus:

Paul uses a similar word [@charis] (grace), which means the free, undeserved favor of God, and adds [@eirene] (peace), the inner sense of serenity and well-being men enjoy through God's grace. Since "peace" ([Hebrew: shalom]) was the common Jewish salutation. Paul's "Grace ... and peace," the salutation of all his letters, combines the Greek and Hebrew forms of greeting.[15]

This verse ends the longest salutation in the Pauline writings. The salutation proper, without the embellishing clauses, reads: "Paul, to all that are in Rome: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The remainder of these first seven verses is actually a series of statements concerning: (1) himself; (2) the gospel; (3) God's Son; (4) his apostolic commission; and (5) the Christian community in Rome. These five precisely logical clusters of statements touch upon many of the profoundest themes in Christianity. Attention is here directed to the technical, ingenious manner in which Paul arranged these five groups of statements, which is proof of the forethought that went into their composition.

<LINES><MONO>

I. Of himself A. That he is a bondslave of Christ B. A called apostle C. Separated unto the gospel of God II. Concerning the gospel (mentioned in "C" above) A. It originated with God B. Was foretold by Old Testament prophecy C. And concerns the Son of God III. Regarding the Son of God (mentioned in "C" above) A. He descended from David according to the flesh B. Proclaimed Son of God with power C. Through the resurrection of the dead IV. Paul's relationship to the risen Lord (mentioned in "C" above) A. Received grace and apostleship from Christ B. Commissioned by Christ to preach obedience of faith to all nations C. Such evangelism to be for Christ's name's sake V. Concerning the church in Rome (just such a congregation as could have been expected from the activity mentioned in "C" above) A. They are beloved of God B. Called saints C. They are the recipients of Paul's "grace and peace"MONO>LINES>

That this remarkable paragraph is capable of being so analyzed and outlined is an amazing proof of the planning and thought which preceded its production.

[12] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1960), p. 56.

[13] Greathouse, op. cit., p. 34.

[14] Moses E. Lard, Commentary on Paul's Letter to Romans (Cincinnati, Ohio: Christian Board of Publication, 1914), p. 33.

[15] Wm. M. Greathouse, op. cit., p. 35.