In Romans 1-2 we find the start of a letter designed to encourage and also cause the reader to reflect on their lives. Paul longed to be in Rome to meet these believers face to face, but he had been unable, so he writes this letter, “that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith”.
It encourages us to patiently seek for glory, honour and immortality, to be a true child of God, a spiritual Jew. This attitude is one that affects the inner person, “a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter” of the law.
Paul also reminds us of the power of the gospel. It reveals the righteousness of God, and it is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. It is up to us, through our manner of life, to share this knowledge and hope.