Reflections on Romans 1

I recently started copying the book of Romans by hand. This exercise was suggested to me by a dear friend as a way to really get to know a book. Since Romans is so useful for evangelism, I thought it was a good place to start, especially if it proves so hard I never do it again!

Chapter one is completed and I have already learned a lot. The book begins with greeting from Paul to the Christian Romans then begins to describe the rest of the world, the Gentile world as he calls it, the unbelieving world. I realized as I'm copying down words like, "They are full of envy, murder, disputes, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents (I noticed here he wasn't talking to children but adults! That means me too!), undiscerning (I recently had a problem because of this...), untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful." (Romans 1:29-31) I know Paul is writing about the unbelievers in Rome, but he was describing me. Few people are so awful that they act like this all the time, but most of us do these things on a daily basis, first amongst them is me. I could write about how I committed many of these sinful acts just today and I have only been awake for...four hours!

Please LORD use this exercise to show me my sin and then to teach me to have a greater confidence in sharing your gospel with a sinful world that You love so willingly despite it's flaws.