Romans 1:1–7 (KJV)
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summarized Philosophical View
The gospel is not a private myth or mystical feeling but the public and rational self-disclosure of God in history. Paul introduces Christianity as “the gospel of God,” rooting faith in objective revelation rather than subjective experience. The Christian worldview alone unites reason, morality, and hope, revealing divine truth in the incarnate Christ.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” — Romans 1:1 (KJV)
Apologetic Devotional
The first words of Romans announce that Christianity begins not with speculation but with revelation: “the gospel of God.” Paul grounds his apostleship in truth that comes from God, not in human invention. Modern culture often treats religion as personal sentiment—“true for you but not for me.” Yet truth, by its very nature, cannot be relative. As J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig remind us, “truth is correspondence with reality”; to deny objective truth is to make an objective claim that truth does not exist. Thus the gospel calls us back to rational realism: God has spoken, and His Word corresponds to what is.
Norman Geisler exposes the contradiction in relativism: “To say there is no absolute truth is to make an absolute statement.” The apostle Paul would agree. His message is not a feeling but a fact: “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord… declared to be the Son of God with power” (vv. 3–4). Christianity’s claims are historical and testable. As Luke also insisted, they were “things which are most surely believed among us” (Luke 1:1), based on eyewitness testimony.
Alister McGrath writes, “Apologetics converts believers into thinkers, and thinkers into believers.” Faith is not blind; it is the mind’s response to revelation. God’s rational self-disclosure dignifies human reason, calling us to love Him with all our mind (Mark 12:30). C. S. Lewis captured this harmony beautifully: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Through the light of the gospel, reality itself becomes intelligible.
Michael Wilkins notes that the Gospels consistently portray divine revelation as “public, verifiable, and historically grounded.” Jesus’ miracles, His resurrection, and the prophetic Scriptures all confirm that faith is not wishful thinking but warranted trust. Paul declares that this gospel “was promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures” (Rom 1:2)—a chain of rational continuity linking prophecy and fulfillment.
Therefore, when we proclaim the gospel, we stand on the firm foundation of truth, not mere preference. The Christian mind must resist both postmodern skepticism and anti-intellectual piety. The gospel is simultaneously revelation and reason, grace and truth (John 1:17). To know Christ is to know the Logos—the rational Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3).
Let us, then, be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). In an age that prizes emotion over evidence and tolerance over truth, believers are called to display a faith that both thinks deeply and worships truly. The gospel of God is the meeting place of the rational and the redemptive—where the light of reason bows in awe before the greater light of revelation.
Supporting Scriptures
John 1:1–14 | Psalm 19:1–4 | Isaiah 1:18 | 2 Peter 1:16–21
Reflection & Response
- How can I better articulate the rational basis of the gospel to those who view truth as relative?
- Do I treat my faith as a private comfort or as a public truth grounded in reason and revelation?
Sources
- Moreland & Craig, p. 118: “Truth is correspondence with reality; it is the way things really are.”
- Geisler, p. 642: “To deny absolute truth is to affirm it in the very act of denial.”
- McGrath, p. 15: “Apologetics converts believers into thinkers, and thinkers into believers.”
- Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book III, ch. 11: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen…”
- Wilkins, p. 22: “The revelation of Jesus in the Gospels is public, verifiable, and historically grounded.”