As we study the Book of Romans in our worship services this quarter, we can once again reflect on the true meaning of the gospel.

  Long ago, Augustine lived a life of indulgence and was lost in sensual pleasures. One day, he happened to hear the voice of a child saying, “Take it and read.” He then picked up the New Testament beside him and read these words from Romans: “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:13–14). Deeply moved, he turned from his old ways and dedicated his life to serving God. As for Martin Luther, though he studied theology diligently, inwardly he lived in fear of death and judgment, dreading that he might have committed sins even he himself was unaware of. This caused him to doubt whether he could truly receive God’s salvation, and he often fell into spiritual darkness. However, when he read these words from Romans, he suddenly grasped the truth he had long been seeking: “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). The Bible became the rock of his faith, for in it he saw the righteousness of God’s grace. From then on, he was determined to proclaim to others the doctrine of justification by faith.

  From the beginning of history until now, humankind has always been rebellious and sinful. Today, we continue to face a secular culture where right and wrong are reversed and where human desires run rampant. God the Creator has clearly declared how He made male and female: “When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created” (Genesis 5:1–2). Yet, today’s social culture is hijacked by transgender ideologies. Changing one’s gender is seen as fashionable and reasonable, while those who affirm the natural reality of gender are criticized as being bigoted or transphobic. Furthermore, Scripture also gives a clear definition of marriage: “Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:22–24). Yet, the world now insists that marriage has no fixed or perfect form, and that it may evolve according to changing social systems and circumstances.

  Through the Book of Romans, God pours out the gospel as a spring of living water and as medicine for every generation, reminding us: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:12–14). May we all receive the holy word together, experience it, and bear witness that this gospel is truly the power of God.