GRACE AND PEACE TO BELIEVERS IN ROME
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peaceG1515 to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7
Paul’s full salutation in this letter takes up the first seven verses of chapter one and is one extremely long sentence! I taught English, but do not ask me to diagram this sentence! First, Paul presents his credentials. Next, he articulates the Gospel in a nutshell. Then he addresses to whom he is writing. Paul had not yet been to Rome in person but is writing to believers in Rome. It is not known exactly how the church in Rome began, but it may be that visitors from Rome were in Jerusalem and heard Peter preach at Pentecost after the Holy Spirit fell in power upon approximately 120 men and women gathered in an upper room. These visitors could have returned to Rome and spread the Good News to others, both Jews and Gentiles. Note that he addresses these believers as “loved of God” and “saints.” The word for “saint” derives from the word for “holy” and indicates they have been set aside to be purified for God’s use. They did not perform a certain number of “good deeds” to become saints. God drew them to Himself, forgave their sin, and purified them by the blood of Jesus Christ shed in their place, the soap of God’s love. On the cross, Jesus took on our sin and paid the price for it. Then He credited His righteousness to our account. All who have placed their trust in Jesus and yielded their will to His are saints. Therefore, Paul addressed his letter to the Christians in Rome, those who were believers in Jesus, the Messiah. We will let Charles Swindoll unpack the greeting Paul used:
The double blessing of grace and peace was a signature greeting for Paul. “Grace” was a common greeting in Greek culture, and its inclusion here would have been as normal to his readers as is the greeting “Dear _________” to us today. However, Paul will delve into the deep theological significance of “grace” in his letter to the Romans in ways that no Jew or Greek would have expected. The Jews customarily greeted one another with shalom, which had the general meaning of “completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship.” The word embodied all the blessings of the Promised Land and the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham. (58)
When we surrender our lives to Christ, we leave behind the cruel master of our sin to join ourselves to the most Benevolent Master who adopts us into His family as a son or daughter. We become at peace with God because Jesus took the penalty of our sin on Himself on the cross and God now sees us as righteous. Our relationship with God that was marred by our sin is now completely restored, and we are in unity with Him. That peace with God then results in the peace of God, a state of well-being even in the middle of the chaos of this world. That is the greeting Paul bestowed on the Christians in Rome whom he had never met.
We must ask ourselves what we desire for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we hope for their peace? Do we pray for their peace as well as our own? Do we confer grace and peace upon other believers even when we may not agree with them on all points?
Father, help us to be avenues of peace within Your family. Help us to encourage others and remind them that peace is found in a right relationship with You. Please restore our peace when circumstances would steal it. Remind us that we are whole in You!