Romans 1:5-6

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, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 

A quick recap of the gospel of God as explained by Paul in the verses previous to these two:
-the gospel of God was promised throughout the Old Testament
-the gospel is all about Jesus Christ, the Son of God
-Jesus was fully man, a descendent of King David, and dealt with all of the feelings and temptations that we do as humans.
-Jesus was fully God, He was not born with a sin nature, and unlike us lived a perfect life-free from sin and full of righteousness
-Jesus was declared as the Son of God with power, by His resurrection from the dead which declared victory over sin, death, and Satan.

Note: Nothing that Paul wrote when laying out these foundational truths about the gospel has anything to do with us. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ!

In the next two verses, we will see how this gospel affects us.

through whom we have received grace: Through Jesus Christ, who is the center of the gospel of God, we have received grace! What is grace exactly? Grace is unmerited favor, or a free gift - a gift that cannot be earned. Through Jesus Christ, we have received a free gift from God that cannot be earned!

and apostleship: Along with grace, we have also received the responsibility of apostleship through Jesus Christ. We are all commissioned by God to go out and spread the truth about the gospel of God, the truth about Jesus Christ and what He has done, the truth about this free gift that no man can earn! Romans 10:14 tells us of the importance of sharing the gospel.

 to bring about the obedience of faith: This is the purpose of our commission. We are called to spread the gospel, because when a soul believes and trusts these truths about Jesus Christ, obedience in the form of saving faith occurs. Saving faith is what salvation hinges on...salvation is the free gift!

for the sake of His name among all the nations: This is the culmination of all that Paul was writing in the previous verses. All that has been accomplished, all that has been displayed, all that has been conquered, all that we have been called to do - it is ALL for the sake of HIS name! As Ephesians 1:14 states "...to the praise of His glory."
His name is to be lifted up by God's children among all the nations, including those in Rome in Paul's day, and including you and me today. His glory is to be the purpose of all that we do.

 I am convicted...I make the gospel about me way to often. After reading these verses, the Holy Spirit is once again reminding me that everything points to Jesus. Nothing I do has any bearing on what He has done. I am called to live my life in appreciation for the free gift, given to me through Him and because of what He did. This is simply what the gospel is all about!

I look forward to any thoughts on any of these past six verses. I grow so much from hearing how God has used His words in the lives of His children. Once again, I pray that anyone who reads this will take a minute to meditate on these verses. Spend some time with God, allow Him to speak to your heart!