Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

We first heard about the church in Rome back in Acts 18. That's when we met Aquila and

Priscilla, the married couple who were Paul's tent-making missionary companions.

The whole reason Paul met them in Corinth is because they were kicked out of Italy for being Jewish.

Then, about five years after the governor kicked them out, they were allowed to return.

But when everyone comes back to Rome, the church looks dramatically different than it did half a

decade earlier. There are so many new Gentiles in the ranks, and the Jewish culture has

really been diluted. It's causing a lot of division and frustration. We've seen this theme from

country to country and church to church. So Paul picks up his pen again to address this persistent

problem with a new group of people, and as always, the gospel is his solution. He writes this letter

to help the church zoom out on what the gospel is and what the gospel means

and what the gospel does.

He addresses his letter to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints,

every Christ follower from every culture and ethnicity.

Through Christ, they have all received grace and apostleship, which lead to the obedience of faith.

Our obedience is a gift of grace from him to us. It's something he gives us that we offer back to him.

But also, hold up. He gives us apostleship? Paul, an apostle, calls the believers in Rome,

apostles. What does that mean? We've talked about

this briefly in the past. Many scholars believe there's room for all believers to be called apostles

today. Others believe it still exists today, but it's a spiritual gift granted to few, and still

others believe it ended in the first century after the church is established. If you want to read

more, check out the three articles we've linked to in the show notes. Also, for what it's worth, we're still in the introduction. I told you Paul's intros are dense. Paul really wants to come visit the Romans. I know he's probably starting to sound like that friend who says, we should catch up sometime, text me and we'll put on the calendar, except he totally means it. He's willing to endure beatings and imprisonment to visit his friends and encourage them

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