Romans 1:1-7
February 1, 2026
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.”

~ Charles Hodge (1851-1878), Principal of Princeton Theological Seminary

“Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” ~ Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), French mathematician and thinker “To be justified means more than to be declared ‘not guilty.’ It actually means to be declared righteous before God. It means God has imputed or charged the guilt of our sin to His Son, Jesus Christ, and has imputed or credited Christ’s righteousness to us.”

~ Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) American author, college minister

“When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen… This is the chief article from which all other doctrines have flowed… It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour. [It is] the master and prince, the lord and ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines.”

~ Martin Luther (1483-1546), German theologian, author & hymnwriter

“The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others.”

~ Timothy Keller (1950-2023), American pastor and author

“Wherever we go we see divisions among people—in families, communities, cities, countries, and continents. All these divisions are tragic reflections of our separation from God. The truth that all people belong together as members of one family under God is seldom visible. Our sacred task is to reveal that truth in the reality of everyday life.”

~ Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer

Sermon Passage

Romans 1:1-7 (ESV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴ and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, ⁶ including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.