Become one of the 1,000,000 people praying for 1,000,000 Americans to find Christ

An Overview of Romans – Our Gospel Engagement Imperative

Mar 16, 2026 | Uncategorized

Project 2026

By P. Douglas Small
President, PRAYER AT THE HEART

The book of Romans is unique. It is a letter to the church that lives at the center of global power. And for that reason, its content needs to be examined against that background. Paul begins with a bold dual assertion. 

First, he testifies that he is “not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1;16) as if he needed to urge or affirm boldness in their witness. The gospel is, Paul declared in chapter one, “the power of God unto salvation.” It is also, at the end of the epistle, in chapter 15, the only hope of the world. Almost immediately, with the end of the book in view, the mission is noted – getting the gospel to the nations.

In chapter 1, Paul launches into one of the most profound assertions in the Bible. The world, he declares, is “under wrath.” Shocking. Negative. Not a message likely to draw crowds in our self-affirming age.

We have preached a love message, almost exclusively – and without the backdrop of impending judgment. As a result, the gospel message has become unintelligible. “O, yes, the response comes. I know God loves me – after all, I am loveable. He loves me, and everyone.” It is good news out of context, wrenched free of its teleological anchor.   

With God’s wrath as the backdrop, God’s love takes on a different tone. Frankly, it is stunning. Paul begins his letter with the bad news, the worst announcement possible. As one old preacher said, “God’s back, and He’s mad!” Then Paul’s narrative grows even darker. We tune out. We cannot endure such an idea, God’s unmitigated anger, without hope, without good news.

The bookends of the epistle to the Romans stand in sharp and almost contradictory contrasts with one another. They are wrath (chapter 1) and hope (chapter 15). The bridge between them is the gospel. The theology of that ‘good news’ message is at the heart of the book. And yet, the good news cannot be fully understood or fully grasped and appreciated without understanding that we live in a world under wrath.

Our only hope, the only hope of the world, is Christ. 

Paul then takes the church on a tour of God’s dealings with humanity and with the Jewish people. He asserts that both – Jew (Chapter 2) and Gentile (Chapter 3) are without excuse. And then, beginning with Abraham, he argues that faith, not obedience to the law, is the basis of salvation (chapter 4), and we all then that all are justified only by faith (chapter 5). Despite problems with the flesh (chapter 6), and continuing condemnation from the law (chapter 7), we can be free and victorious if we walk, not in the flesh, but by the Spirit (chapter 8). We can be “more than conquerors” in Christ (Romans 8: 37). Here, in Christ, through consecration and the death of self, we find life purpose (12:1-2).  

At the end of the book, Paul prays an extraordinary prayer for the church in Rome. It is his benediction. And in this prayer – he calls the church to its mission. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of the book of Romans – mission. Against the backdrop of a world under wrath, Paul urges the church to preach – but, surprisingly, its dominant message is not wrath! This is so important, and again, contradictory. We should note the tension in these ideas: bad news and good news, wrath and hope, the law and the gospel, salvation that is free, by grace through faith, and salvation that calls for self-sacrifice in consecration.  

First, we should live with an awareness of the coming wrath – and yet, we do not. It is hardly on our radar screen. We act as if there is no problem – one’s eternal destiny in Western culture is a secondary, casual matter.  As if there is no concern with sin, no danger of God’s judgment. “That crack in the dam? It’s been there for years! We’re in no danger, even if we do live downstream.” This is a dangerous delusion, informed by faulty theology, woefully inadequate for mission.

With half the church asleep, we carry on with our lives as if the global madness described in Revelation was not our concern. It should concern us. In fact, it must alarm us. It is meant to break our hearts and move us to act while there is still time. Whether one’s view is pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or pre-wrath – the world is about to face the wrath of God, and 3 billion people have not yet heard.

We all have family and friends who are lost and unprepared to meet God. If Jesus returns – they will be left behind. This should bring us to tears, often. Our commitment to comfortable living dismisses or, at the least, treats lightly, our personal obligation to mission. And our sense of urgency, informed by the coming judgment, is restrained.    

Second, against the backdrop of God’s wrath, Paul unwraps an extensive theology of salvation. Wrath is not our message. Doom and gloom are not the lyrics of the song we sing – and Paul does urge us to sing.  The message we offer is hope. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we share a good news message out of the disposition of joy and peace. 

We are not to be contentious – but peacemakers. We are not to be pessimistic and gloomy – but full of joy. We are not judicial – that’s God’s role. We are messengers of hope. We are on a critical mission – attempting to get people ready to leave a planet about to go up in smoke. But we do not race through the building shouting fire – we lead people out, rather than driving them out. We preach love, not fear. Still, the message must not be truncated or without context. It can’t be without the backdrop of the coming wrath.  

What is needed is a church that offers hope. We offer a basis for confidence, a realistic process at developing a healthy and holy culture, a sobering appraisal of humanity’s sin condition, a Savior who can be trusted, a gospel that promises transformation, and a mission of hope. We live in hope. We dwell in hope. We rest in hope.   

Call Our 24/7 Prayer Line

(844) 500-2121

© 2026 All rights Reserved. Prayer At The Heart

“Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray” (C. Spurgeon). This reliable principle begs the question: “How does God mobilize his people to heartfelt prayer?” Most importantly, how does God move Christian leaders who shepherd His church to unite in fervent, persistent, biblically focused prayer for the fulfillment of His purposes? By two things mainly: 1) distress over the degradation of the church and the surrounding culture and 2) hope that God will pour out His Spirit on his church and fill it with His fulness until it overflows with transformative impact on society. Many believers are distressed at the current state of things. At the same time, there is much reason to hope for God’s divine intervention in response to passionate, biblically guided prayer.

Believers across America now mourn the debility of the church; its vitality is faltering, its impact fading, its mission neglected, and its devotion to God being undercut by love for this world. Right now we are enduring the largest and fastest religious shift in American history. Its scope is greater than every previous spiritual awakening in our history combined, only in the opposite direction. Christians are being confronted by “spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12) operating from the heavenly realms that boldly infiltrate every aspect of society, even the church. These dark powers aim to 1) frustrate God’s purpose to bless all peoples on earth through Christ with countless benefits, including righteousness, peace, joy, and justice, and 2)
inflict endless varieties of misery on everyone. When spiritual decline and cultural decay prevail, God’s people rise up to seek the Lord in prayer as the fountain of every blessing, asking him to fill the earth with his glory, pour out His Holy Spirit, inspire his church, and deliver people and cultures from innumerable troubles. Now is the time to pray with desperation for spiritual and cultural renewal, for divine intervention, for the fulfillment of God’s purposes for his church and his creation in Northeast Ohio.

Christian leaders, especially pastors, have a heightened responsibility to press into God with prayer for the church. Biblical precedent shows that gathering church leaders together to engage in heartfelt prayer for the welfare of their community often initiates widespread spiritual and social renewal both in church and society (2 Chron. 7:13-14; 15:8-10; 34:29-32). New Testament accounts show that when Christian leaders unite in prayer, often in response to social and/or spiritual crises, spiritual awakening and gospel advance follow (Acts 1:13-14; 2:1-4; 4:23-31; 13:1-3).

Jesus himself instills expectation of an outpouring of God’s Spirit in response to prayer with this promise: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). Our Father in heaven is especially ready to pour out upon us the blessing we most need and long for, the very Spirit of God who imparts divine life, wisdom, and virtue.

With all this in mind, now is the time for Christian leaders across Northeast Ohio to come together to seek the Lord with biblically grounded, Christ-directed, wholehearted prayer for a God-given spiritual awakening. The trumpet of God is blaring! He is calling us to pray! Join Christian leaders from across our region to humble ourselves, seek the Lord’s face, and be willing to respond through His intervening grace to any changes He calls us to make! (Psalm 110:3)

The Gathering is an extension of the nationwide PATH (Prayer at the Heart) initiative piloted recently in Northeast Ohio. Put The Gathering on your calendar: Sunday, September 24, 6 pm, Calvary Chapel of Cleveland, 709 Brook Park Road, Brooklyn Heights, OH.