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Romans tells us to Thank God

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

The very first thing that Romans teaches that we we should thank God for is:

our own personal salvation (through Jesus Christ)
our church (you all)
a faith that is evident to others. Our faith is given by God and grown by God.
a testimony that even the lost must recognize (spoken of throughout the whole world)

Romans 1:20-21 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. We need to thank God that He sought us out and revealed Himself to us in a way that led us to salvation. We need to be warned that every time we reject a truth our heart is darkened. Notice the order in this sentence and follow it to avoid having your heart being darkened.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen: see spiritual truths. Don't limit your sight to the things of this world
being understood: meditate on the spiritual things that God shows you and see understanding from Him.
by the things that are made: realize that God made you, has power over you and your life and understands how things work in a way that you can never understand because there are things in this world that you will never understand. Recognize how much God knows and understands things that you don't.
even his eternal power and Godhead Recognize how much God is greater than you are.
so that they are without excuse: realize that there is NO excuse for not recognizing this truth. The only cause is sinful pride which will get you damned by God.
Because that, when they knew God: even the lost knew God before they rejected the truth and sought a lie to justify their sinful pride. Jeremiah 29:13-14a says: And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity Other places in the Bible also promise that God will reveal Himself to any who truly seek Him. God put in all people a knowledge that he exists and everyone knew Him at least enough to let them know that they need to seek Him.
they glorified him not as God: This is the first mistake made by everyone who is not thankful, even the saved. God owes us nothing and we need to be honored that God acknowledges our existence, that God choses to listen to us and that God choses to love us. God is far above us and we need to glorify Him for that truth so that others will also do the same and can then be thankful and saved.
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations: the end result of refusing to thank God for all that He is and all that He provides is foolish vain pride which God must punish as the sin that it is. Instead of seeing reality as it is, we believe the lies that come from our imaginations.
and their foolish heart was darkened: this is the final result of our refusing to be thankful. When our foolish heart is darkened it becomes harder for use to see the truth. If we continue along that path we eventually get to the point that we will never see the truth and are only waiting our death before we go to Hell. The only way back from that darkness is to start by being thankful. After that we can then glorify God and reverse each of the steps which lead to destruction.

Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Here we see the result of people truly repenting and turning from the unthankful path to Hell towards God's truth and salvation.

Notice that this verse starts with But God be thanked. When you get saved and when you stop sin as a child of God, others thank God for the change in your life.
Moving on, the word ye which means 'each and every one of you personally'. Salvation and sanctification are personal decisions and ways of spiritual life.
Notice the past-tense word of being that is were. Truly saved 'stop their sinning'. Yes, they still do some sin but there are certain sins which were in their past life which no longer are there.
Notice our last phrase of but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. The word but means a change in direction from being the servants of sin.
Next, the only way to stop being a servant of sin is to obey from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. It is not our doing good works but our obeying the command of God with faith that God will free us from sin as a result. We do not force God to do this but God wants to do so and has promised to free all who will obey from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Finally, notice that this obedience is from the heart and not from the head. If you forget your decision then you only made it in your head. If your repentance is truly from the heart then it will be remembered and cause you to change your attitudes and actions.

Romans 7:25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here we see that the only way to be delivered'from the body of this death and to stop being a wretched man is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 10:13says For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Our salvation and our sanctification and all else which we get from God is only through Jesus Christ and only when He is our Lord. The Bible does not say to ask Jesus to be your Savior but it says that you must accept Him as your Lord. That means you make an oath to obey Him in all matters, including life and death, and agree to accept His judgment of your obedience. After you do that He, as Lord, opens the law books where your criminal acts of sin are written down and legally blots out that record so that you are no longer regarded as a criminal by God. He then legally adopts you and makes you a child of God so that any future sin is dealt with as a child of God and not as a criminal sinner.

Romans 14:6-7 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Here we see the evidence of a truly saved person. They don't follow a bunch of religious rules but they obey God and thank Him for a personal relationship with Him, they thank Him for personal leading in their life and they don't worry about others. If others respond to God like they do or don't it doesn't stop them from obeying God and thanking Him for everything. Those people who are truly thankful to God for what He has given them will be willing to publicly come to the altar and publicly thank Him. Those who are not willing to publicly thank God prove to all around them that they are full of foolish pride and have become vain in their imaginations and are on the path to punishment and destruction. You may not want to obey but one of our verses said but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Your response to this invitation testifies of the state of your heart.

Romans tells us to Thank God

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