Romans 1:8-17

When writing this letter Paul had never yet been to Rome. He wanted to write this letter as a sort of fellowship letter. He says in verse 9 that he was continually praying for them. Being in the city that was the seat of the empire, their faith was spoken of through the known world. This letter is complete when it comes to explaining the ways of God in the gospel(salvation) and the setting aside of the Jewish nation and from chapter 12 the Christian life with personal comments at the end. He longs to see these Roman Christians and he soon would be there but not in the manner that he expected, but as a prisoner of Rome. We don't always get things done as we expect, but God is always in charge. My path for the 52 years I was a Christian have had things like that. Paul declares himself to be debtor to the Greeks and Barbarians to the wise and the unwise ( educated and unlearned). Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because it was the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in Christ. The rest of this will be spent on verse 17. The righteousness of God is revealed apart from the law of Moses through the Gospel of Christ. The verse ends with "The just shall live by faith." This is what turned the self righteous monk Martin Luther to faith in Jesus Christ.