Romans 1

Paul Bukauskas

Romans • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented a month ago

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Man's Misery

Notes

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Handout

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Romans and his study guide. Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Introduction

— Romans is a life-changing book

— When Donald Grey Barnhouse first became pastor at his church in Philadelphia, he began preaching from the book of Romans. He writes

“ For three and one half years I never took a text outside of the epistle to the Romans. I saw the church transformed; the audience filled the pews and then the galleries; and the work went on with great blessing.”

Augustine

— The Swiss commentator, Godet, has pointed out that every movement in revival in the history of the Christian church has been connected with the teachings set forth in Romans. He writes:

“ The reformation was certainly the work of the epistle to the Romans and that to the Galatians, and it is probable that every great spiritual renovation in the Church will always be linked, both in cause and effect, to a deeper knowledge of this book”

— In the summer of A.D. 386 a man named Augustine, a native of North Africa, was sitting in the garden of a friend

— He wanted to start a new life but found it impossible to break with his old life

— Historians tells us that by chance some children were singing in the neighboring yard, “Tolle Lege, Tole Lege,” a little melody that says, “Take up and read, take up and read”

— Next to his friend was a scroll which contained a portion of Romans, which he read, it said “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof”

— Augustine wrote, “No further would I read nor had I any need. Instantly, at the end of this sentence a clear light flooded my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished”

— At that very moment, the church received the great Augustine, the framer of much of its theology

Martin Luther

— In November 1515 an Augustine monk by the name of Martin Luther was a professor of theology at the Catholic university of Wittenberg and teaching his students from the book of Romans

— He longed to understand Paul’s doctrine of justification; but justification by…what?… faith

— Luther writes:

“I greatly longed to understand Paul’s epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but one expression, ‘the righteousness of God.’ Because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous. Night and day I pondered until I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby through grace and sheer mercy He justifies us by faith. There upon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise, the whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the righteousness of God had filled me with hate, it now began to fill me inexpressibly with a sweet love.”

John Wesley

The biographer of John Wesley writes that on the evening of May 24, 1738 John Wesley went unwillingly to society in Aldersgate Street where a man was reading from the preface of Luther’s commentary on Romans. Wesley wrote in his journal about his conversion that night saying, “I myself felt my heart strangely warmed. .. I felt I did trust Christ and Christ alone for my salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death”

The Author

— Paul

— Paul was his new name, his old name was Saul

— He was born in Tarsus, because his father was a Roman citizen

— Tarsus was a university town located in the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, in modern day Turkey

— He studied under the most distinguished doctor of the law by a man by the name of Gamaliel, who was the grandson of the most famous rabbi who ever lived, Hillel

— It was said that there were three great universities in the Greek world: Athens, Alexandria and Tarsus. These were the Harvard, Yale and Princeton of their day; Paul was educated in Tarsus and then further educated in the Jewish school of Gamaliel

— He had a consummate education and since he was also Roman citizen he could move freely everywhere

— He was in Tarsus and he heard about the teaching of Jesus being the Messiah, and he was angry at this heresy and affront to traditional Judaism. This is what he said to King Agrippa in his defense

“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” ( Acts 26:9-11 )

— In Acts 7 we see the Jews are stoning Stephen for his testimony and we see in Acts 8:1 that Saul is consenting to Stephen’s death and if you look at Acts 7:58 is says:

“ and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” ( Acts 7:58 )

— This was typical stuff for Paul, he was executing Christians

— Luke literally says that he laid waste to the church

“As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” ( Acts 8:3 )

— As a result, Christians fled; he literally cleaned them out of Jerusalem

— He heard that there were Christians in foreign cities, and his sin is like Haman the Agagite, who wanted all the Jews exterminated ( Esther 3:8-9 )

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” ( Acts 9:1-2 )

— Damascus was 160 miles northeast of Jerusalem and had a population of 150,000. It was a six day journey by caravan

— Then Acts 9:3 tells us that something amazing happened:

“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.” ( Acts 9:3 )

— If you read Acts 22 and 26, where he recites his testimony, Paul says that it was at noontime, the middle of the day. It must have been some sort of amazing light

— Then Paul hears a voice

“Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” ( Acts 9:4-5 )

— The Jesus who went about doing good, who went about healing, who took out demons and delivered people from death; Jesus who was crucified, rejected by Israel; Jesus, whom Stephen had called upon in his own death; Jesus whom Paul hated; Jesus whose followers Paul had mercilessly killed; Jesus was alive and all the bloodshed drowned Saul in a sea of sorrow; he was shattered; He was penitent; He was broken; he was devastated; He was destroyed

— Paul never forgot the enormity of his sin, that is why he told Timothy

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” ( 1 Tim 1:12-15 )

— Acts 9:9 says that he was blind and did not eat for three days; he was speechless, utterly devastated

— Even when he became converted and tried to have an audience with the apostles, they were afraid to let him in

— Nobody could get to him; He was a brand plucked from the burning; God had to do it

— Acts 9:20 says, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.”

— As soon as he was converted he started preaching the gospel in Damascus; and it was just a few verses later that we read that Jews planned to kill him

— Galatians tells us that he went to Arabia and that is where the Lord personally taught him, because he says, “I didn’t get my message from any man, I didn’t go to Jerusalem and get it, I didn’t get it from any of the apostles, I didn’t get it from anybody but the Lord himself” ( Gal 1:11-12)

— First, he has seen the resurrected Lord and second he has been taught by the Lord himself

— After he comes back from Arabia he goes straight back to Damascus and they try to kill him again; 2 Cor 11:32-33 says that he escaped by being let down over the wall in a basket

— When he gets to Jerusalem he wants to meet with the disciples ( Acts 9:26 ) but they are all afraid of him; that’s an old trick, we’ll let him in and he will kill all of us!

— But Barnabas vouched for him and took him in and he spoke boldly and the Jews wanted to kill him

— He just can’t stay out of trouble and finally the disciples sent him away; they had about all they could handle, so they sent him back to Tarsus ( Acts 9:30 )

— It seems from Gal 1:18 to assume that he spent 15 days with Peter and the apostles before being shipped out of town; and from Acts 15:41 we conclude that he founded a church in Tarsus and Cilicia

— Seven years after the church started in Jerusalem, the church had grown to include Antioch which was far north of Jerusalem in Syria, so the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch and he thought it woudl be a good idea to bring Paul, we find Paul and Barnabas working together in Antioch ( Acts 11:30 )

— Now in Acts 13 is the turning point

“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” ( Acts 13:1-3 )

— Paul was one of the five elders of the church

— When they fasted and prayed they laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them away

— And from Acts 13-21 Paul takes three great missionary journeys

—On his third and final journey he goes to Ephesus, stays there for several years, he leaves and goes to Macedonia and then Corinth for the third time and writes the epistle to the Romans

Douglas Moo

— There is no doubt that Paul wrote Romans, which he claims to have done ( 1:1)

— In keeping with regular ancient custom, Paul used an amanuensis, to write the letter, identified as Tertius ( 16:22 )

— Ancient authors gave the amanuenses varying degrees of responsibility — word for word dictation or sweeping responsibility to put their ideas into words

— Paul dictated this letter, which is very close in style to both Galatians and 1 Corinthians — and there is no evidence that Tertius was involved with either of those two letters

Place and Date

— Paul wrote to the Romans form Corinth

— Gaius with whom Paul is staying ( 16:23 ) is probably the same Gaius whom Paul baptized at Corinth ( 1 Cor 1:14 )

— He commends to the church Phoebe and it is assumed that Phoebe carried this letter to the church

— As to the time that he wrote the letter their is a lot of speculation

— His first trip to Corinth was during his second missionary journey ( Acts 15:36-18:22 ) which was after the Jerusalem council ( A.D. 50 )

— However this letter belongs to a later time when his missionary work in the eastern part of the Roman empire was nearly complete:

— “ From Jerusalem and round about, as far as Illyricum, I have preached the gospel of Christ” ( Rom 15:19 )

— “I no longer have room for work in these regions” ( 15:23 )

— “… now at last” ( 1:10 )

— Paul again visited the church at Corinth during his second missionary trip ( II Cor 12:4; 13:1 )

— But this was a short and painful visit and it is unlikely he wrote this great epistle at that time

— He most likely wrote this during his third visit missionary journey ( Acts 18:23-21:16 )

— This would be A.D. 57 - 58

— This trip was almost three years ( Acts 20:31 )

— Since his intention was to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost ( Acts 20:16 ) we can perhaps be even more specific and say that the letter was written toward the close of the winter and/or during the beginning of the spring

Its Addressees

— After Pentecost the number of disciples increased by leaps and bounds ( Acts 2:41; 4:4 )

— Luke tells us that among those who witnessed the astounding miracles attending the outpouring of the Holy Spirit there were “visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes” (Gentile converts to Judaism )

— No apostle started the church in Rome but travel was easy and relatively safe because of the Pax Romana ( reign of peace )

— Travel by ships was common

— The population was 1M to 1.5M

— Many ships brought grain to the capital; the people had to be fed

— There were the famous Romans roads: via Appia, Via Cornelia, Via Aurelia, Via Valeria

— They were sturdy and durable construction and were furnished with mile markers

— Twenty main highways issued from Rome’s “Golden Milestone” to all parts of the empire

Q: Did Peter start the church or go to Rome?

— Rome teaches that Peter was the first pope and had a twenty-five year episcopacy in Rome

— If this were true, Peter would have been a supreme authority in the Roman church at the same time that Paul writes this letter

— Yet Paul never mentions Peter in his list of greetings ( Rom 16:3-15 )

— It is unlikely that Paul would have been guilty of such neglect and breach of etiquette

— It is hard to see how Paul could have written this in a doctrinal letter to the Roman church if it has already been founded by Peter and received its early teaching form him (Boice)

— When Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment Peter was in Rome

— Peter wrote 1 Peter from Babylon ( 1 Pet 5:13 )

— However, Paul’s release and Peter’s epistle occurred after Paul wrote Romans

— We know therefore that, at least toward the close of his life, Peter labored in the church at Rome

Occasion and Purpose

Many Friends

— Paul has preached the gospel from Jerusalem all the way to the former Yugoslavia and Albania ( Rom 15:19 )

— The gospel has also reached Rome and Paul has many friends there

— And Paul has had a desire to go there for many years

— Because Paul is unable to go there immediately, the writes this letter

— Paul has collected money for the poor and must first go to Jerusalem and then go to Rome ( Acts 24:17 ); that was the plan

— All the more Paul feels the necessity of writing this letter because he is not sure that he will ever reach Rome

— He fears that the Jews will kill him ( Acts 14:19; 17:5, 13; 18:6, 12f.; 23:12-21; II Cor 11:24, 32, 33 )

— He was not sure that the Jerusalem “saints” would be willing to accept a gift from the Gentiles

— Paul was not wrong in his fear for his life; but the saints did welcome the gift ( Acts 21:17 )

Spain

— Paul wanted to go to Spain and wanted to enlist the help of his friends in Rome ( 15:24 )

— Romans is a letter of introduction to a church that he hopes to add to his list of “sponsors” (Moo)

Corinth/Galatia

— One way of accounting for Paul’s emphasis on Jewish issues is to regard Romans as Paul’s summary of the position that he hammered out with Judaizers in Galatia and Corinth

— However, this explanation leaves too much unexplained (Moo)

Jerusalem

— The same objection applies to the suggestion that Romans contains the “speech” that Paul is preparing to deliver when he arrives in Jerusalem

— He viewed this collection as a practical means to cement the fractured and sometimes bitter relationships between Gentiles and Jews in the early church

— His visit to Jerusalem loomed large in his mind as he wrote Romans

— Paul prays for the success of his mission ( 15:30-33 ) (Moo)

The Good News of God ( 1:1 )

( 1:1 ) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Sin

— Sin is everywhere in the World

— Sin is selfishness, the basic nature of human nature is selfishness

— When Satan fell he asserted his own will over God, five times declaring “I will...” ( Isa 14:13-14 )

— Many people want self satisfaction and will discard a spouse like a pair of old shoes

— Sin produces guilt

— Guilt is a God-given warning system that something is wrong

— When guilt is ignored it grows and with it comes anxiety, sleeplessness and other spiritual and physical afflictions

— Sin produces meaninglessness

— The selfish person with no meaning has a void that cannot be filled

— Sin is hopelessness

— The selfish person forfeits hope, he senses that even death is not the end, and for the hopeless sinner death becomes the ultimate bad news

Good News

— The essence of Paul’s letter to the Romans is that here is good news that is truly good

— He calls it

— The blessed good news

— The good news of salvation

— The good news of Jesus Christ

— The good news of God’s Son

— The good news of the grace of God

— Good news presupposes that there is bad news

The Preacher of the Good News ( 1:1 )

— Paul

— A gifted man with divine “insight into the mystery of Christ” ( Eph 3:4 )

— He crisscrossed much of the Roman Empire as God’s ambassador of the good news of Christ

— He performed many healing miracles, yet was not relieved of his own thorn in the flesh

— He raised Eutychus from the dead but was at least once left for dead

— He preached freedom in Christ but was imprisoned by men during many years of his ministry

Boice

Paul’s letters are always filled with Jesus, no matter what is is writing about. Some letters like Romans, are theological in nature. Others, like 1 and 2 Corinthians and Galatians, deal with problems in the churches. Some are personal; some are incidental in nature. Whatever his topic or specific purpose, Paul is always thinking about and relating his message to Jesus

In the first seven verses of Romans, the first half of Paul’s opening remarks, Jesus is mentioned by name, pronoun, title, or a descriptive phrase eight times: “Christ Jesus” (v. 1), “his Son”, “a descendant of David” (v. 3), “the Son of God,” “Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 4), “Him” (v. 5), “Jesus Christ” (v. 6 ), and “the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 7 ).

This provides a very good way of testing our Christianity. Many of us, at least those who take time to read a study of Romans or certain other Bible commentaries, are convinced of the truthfulness of Christianity. Perhaps we can even articulate the doctrines of the faith, as Paul does. We can systematize theology. Ah, but do we love Jesus? Are our thoughts constantly occupied with him? Is he at the forefront? Is he the center? Is he the beginning and the end? When we talk to one another, do we speak often of him? Are we content to let the honors of the world pass by, so long as we can be known as Christ’s servants? This gets very close to what is chiefly wrong with our contemporary Christianity. Our religion is one of personalities, plans, and programs, or buildings, books, and bargains. Because it is not the faith of those who love Jesus, it is shallow and selfish, constantly shifting in ebbs and flows of cultural standards. As we grow in grace we think less of these thing and more of him who “loved me and gave himself for me” ( Gal 2:20 )

Paul’s Position as a servant of Christ ( 1:1a)

( 1:1a ) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ,

Bond servant doulos (δου̂λος, slave )

— Doulos carries the basic idea of subservience and has a wide range of meanings

— Sometimes used of a person who willingly served others

— But most commonly it referred to those who were in unwilling and permanent bondage, from which often there was no release but death

— The Hebrew equivalent is ‘ebed

— The practice described in Ex 21:5-6 reflects Paul’s use of the term bond-servant; he was a willing slave

Hendriksen

— Paul was “a Hebrew of Hebrews” ( Phil 3:5 ), thoroughly at home in the OT

— Therefore, when he calls himself “a doulos of Christ,” he is probably reflecting on passages in which Abraham ( Gen 26:24 ), Moses ( Num 12:7), Joshua ( Josh 24:29 ), David ( II Sam 7:5 ), Isaiah ( Is 20:3), etc., are called Jehovah’s servants

Exalted

— The OT concept of a servant was very different than first-century Roman slavery

— OT servants carry the idea of humble nobility and honor

— God spoke of Abraham as His servant ( Gen 26:24; Num 12:7 )

— Joshua is called the “servant of the Lord” ( Josh 24:29 )

— David ( 2 Sam 7:5); and the Messiah ( Isa 53:11 )

Humility

— Paul called himself a table waiter, diakonos (1 Cor 3:5 )

— He considered himself the foremost of sinners ( 1 Tim 1:15 )

— A galley slave, “under-rower,” huperetes ( 1 Cor 4:1 )

— But because he was called of God, he would never belittle his position as an apostle

Boice

Paul’s description of himself as Christ’s servant accomplishes a number of other things that are worth noting

Paul’s description of himself as a servant of Christ puts him in the same category as those to whom he is writing

— Paul uses the word redemption in chapter 3

— In that day it mean to buy in the market place, particularly a slave

— Slavery to Christ is a special kind of slavery; it is a slavery in which we actually become free

— To be a slave to Christ is a proper description of a Christian, so that Paul could write:

“ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” ( 1 Cor 6:19-20 )

— When Paul says that he is a slave to Christ, he is saying, among other things, “I am like you. Like you, I, too, have been purchased by Christ and am his follower”

Paul’s description of himself as a servant of Christ Jesus emphasizes that his chief function as a disciple of Christ is service

— As a servant we are called to service

— We should be known as a church of servants

“… whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” ( Matt 20:26-28 )

Paul’s description of himself as a servant of Christ reminds his readers that he is nevertheless Christ’s servant — a servant of Christ first and a servant of man second — and that he is writing to them in this capacity

— This anticipates what Paul will write next

Paul’s authority as an apostle ( 1:1b)

( 1:1b ) called to be an apostle

— Better translated, “a called apostle”

— It was not of his own doing, he was called ( Acts 9:15; 22:14-15; 26:16-18 )

Hendriksen

Apostle άποστόλος (apostolos)

— In the broadest sense the verb means to send, to send away or commission, to dispatch

— In classical Greek it could refer to a “an apostolic boat” or cargo vessel

— In its widest meaning it refers to any gospel messenger, thus used, Barnabas, Epaphroditus, Apollos, Silvanus and Timothy are all called “apostles” ( Acts 14:14; 1 Cor 4:6, 9; Phil 2:25; 1 Thess 2:6; cf. 1:1; and see also 1 Cor 15:7 )

D. Grey Barnhouse

— The secret of Paul’s greatness is indicated in the order of these two words

— He was first a bondslave, utterly surrendered to the Lord, and then he was a sent one

Q: The apostle Paul and the Twelve all had something in common which distinguished them. What was it?

They were chosen, called and sent forth by Christ himself ( John 6:70; 13:18; 15:16; Gal 1:6 )

They were eye witnesses of Christ’s words and deed; specifically His resurrection ( Acts 1:8, 21, 22: 1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:12; Eph 3:2-8; 1 John 1:1-3 ) Note: Acts 1:21 does not apply to Paul

They all had been endowed with a special measure of the Holy Spirit and it is this Holy Spirit that leads them into all the truth ( Matt 10:20; John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-14; 20:22; 1 Cor 2:10-13; 7:40; 1 Thess 4:8 )

God blessed their work, confirming its value by signs and miracles, and giving them much fruit ( Matt 10:1, 8; Acts 2:43; 3:2; 5:12-16; Rom 15:18, 19; 1 Cor 9:2; II Cor 12:12; Gal 2:8 )

Their office was not restricted to a local church but for the entire church ( Acts 26:16-18; II Tim 4:7, 8 )

Many men who were not sent by God

— False prophets have always plagued God’s people

— They corrupted ancient Israel and have corrupted the church

— “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. “ ( Jer 23:21 )

Paul’s transformation

Boice

— Before being called to be an apostle, Paul was a Pharisee, and the meaning of the word is “separation” or “a separated one”

— Pharisees crossed the street rather than pass close to some unworthy sinner

— But, when Paul met Christ, a life-shattering thing occurred in him

— Before, he was separated from all manner of things, and as a result was self-righteous

— Afterwards, he was separated unto something, unto the gospel

—That separation was positive — expansive, joyful, and humbling and he never got over that divinely produced transformation

Paul’s Power in being set apart for the gospel ( 1:1c)

( 1:1c ) separated to the gospel of God

Separated/set apart

— In the OT God provided for the setting apart of His chosen people

— And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. ( Lev 20:26 )

— Before the Lord delivered his people from Pharaoh, He said to devote your first offspring both animal and man to the Lord ( Ex 13:12 )

— And also to give God your first fruits ( Num 15:20 )

— And to set apart the Levites as priests ( Num 8:11-14 )

Septuagint

— In the Greek version of the bible ( Septuagint ) in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus the terms “present,” “lift up,” and “set apart” are all forms of aphorizō ( ἀφορίζω ) , the term Paul used for set apart

— In other words, there was to be no intermingling of the chosen people of God with the Gentile nations or of the sacred with the profane and ordinary

The Gospel

— Glad tidings, God’s gospel; God-spell, the spell or story that tells us that God has done to save sinners

— The town herald would stand in the village square and shout, “Good News! The emperor’s wife has given birth to a son”

— Paul wanted to make sure his readers knew that this was not a trivial or vain proclamation

Boice

— The most important word in the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Romans is the “gospel”

— It is an important theme of the book and he uses it six times in his introduction (vv. 1, 2, 9, 15, 16, 17 )

Of God

— God was the source of the news

— The grammatical way of stating this is that the genitive (“of God”) is a subjective, rather than an objective genitive; It means that God creates and announces the gospel rather than that he is the object of its proclamation

— It was not man’s good news, but God’s good news for man

— It is the glad news of salvation which God address to a world lost in sin

— Not what we must do but what God in Christ has done for us in the most prominent part of that good news

D. Grey Barnhouse

— We must not be confused into thinking that God is love apart from any other attributes

— If you say God is love without realizing that God is hat of sin, you have no gospel at all because you do not have God

— You will never understand Satan if you do not realize that he loves to masquerade as God and that you will find him most often at church, in the pulpit, in the Bible class, preaching and praying, with a mask of a saccharine God in front of his grinning face

— God so hated sin that He gave His only begotten Son, or, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. These two sentences are stating identical truths. They cannot be separated in our minds without distorting the nature of the Godhead

The Promise of Good News ( 1:2)

( 1:2 ) which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

— The gospel, which originated with God, not man, was not a divine afterthought

— Nor was it first taught in the NT

— It does not reflect a change in God’s plans

— It was promised by God beforehand through this prophets in the holy Scriptures ( cf. Heb 1:1-2; 1 Pet 1:10-12 )

— Paul was frequently accused of teaching against Moses and teaching a revolutionary message unheard of in ancient Judaism ( cf Acts 21:20ff )

— Scriptures as opposed to the rabbinical teachings which were studied and zealously followed

— It is estimated that the OT contains as least 332 prophecies about Christ, most of which were fulfilled in His first coming

— The prophets spoke generally of the anticipated new covenant ( cf. Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:25-27) as well as specifically of the Messiah ( cf. Isa 7:18; 9:6-7; 53:1-12 )

Hendriksen

— This passage is very important, it shows us how, Paul, inspired by the HS, wants us to regard the OT

— He clearly views the OT and NT as belonging together

—The OT contains promises and the NT shows how these promises had been, were being, and were going to be fulfilled

D. Grey Barnhouse

— Probably very few people had read the whole Bible for several hundred years after Christ

— But some of the great fathers of the church had the opportunity and one of the greatest of these, St. Augustine, has left us a little rhymed couplet in Latin to tell us how the Old and the New are tied together:

In Novo Testament patet

Quae in Vetare latet

— The New is the Old concealed, the Old is the New revealed

The Promised Gospel

Boice

— The second thing that Paul says about the gospel is that it was promised beforehand through God’s prophets

— Salvation through Christ alone was not a novelty, it was spoken of in the OT

The Preaching of Paul

— Paul never tired of showing the connection of the gospel to the OT

— Speaking in Antioch in the synagogue on the Sabbath, Paul draws Christ out of the OT ( Acts 13:16- 47 )

— God sent Jesus as a descendant of King David, according to His promise ( Acts 13:23 )

— Everything Jesus did fulfilled the Holy Scriptures

— He was condemned and crucified as the prophets said He would be ( Acts 13:27 )

— Afterward He was raised from the dead according to these same prophecies ( Acts 13:33 )

— Here Paul quotes Ps 2:7 to prove Christ’s deity: “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ( Ps 2:7 )

— And he quotes Ps 16:10 and Is 55:3 to confirm that the resurrection was prophesied ( Acts 13:33-34 )

— The quote form Psalms 16:10 is straight-forward: “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

— The quote from Isaiah is bit more obscure “I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David” ( Is 55:3 )

— Then, Paul warns his audience of not believing his message and quotes Habakkuk 1:5

“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. ( Hab 1:5 )

— And he says that even this message of salvation to both Jew and Gentile has been prophesied by Isaiah centuries before ( Acts 13:47 )

I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” ( Is 49:6 )

— When Paul was preaching in Thessalonica we read ( Acts 17:2-3 )

Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” ( Acts 17:2-3 )

The Preaching of Philip

— A few chapters earlier we see Philip explaining Isaiah 53:7-8 to an Ethiopian official ( Acts 8:32-35 )

— The story relates that “Philip began with the very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” ( Acts 8:35 )

The Preaching of Peter

— In the early chapters of Acts we see two examples of Peter preaching Christ from the OT

Pentecost ( Acts 2:14-36 )

— Peter gave a sermon that was roughly quotations from the OT which were explained in the second half of the message

— Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32 which prophesied about Pentecost itself

— He quoted Ps 16:8-11 which Paul also quoted and relates to the resurrection

— And Peter quoted Ps 110:1

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ( Ps 110:1 )

Preaching in the temple ( Acts 4:8-12 )

— Peter was preaching in the temple showing the OT prophesied Jesus’ rejection by Israel ( Ps 118:22 )

“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” ( Ps 118:22 )

— This verse was a favorite of Peter and he used it again in 1 Peter 2:7

In 1 Peter he again appealed to the OT to prove the Christ’s rejection was foretold

— In 1 Peter 2:6 he quotes Is 28:16

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.” ( Is 28:16 )

— In 1 Peter 2:8 he quotes Is 8:14

“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” ( Is 8:14 )

— You can’t read Peter’s sermons or writing and not stumble over OT quotations at every turn

The Preaching of Jesus Christ

— Where did the apostles get this important OT approach to the gospel?

— It seems that none of their contemporaries seem to have read the OT in this fashion

— The only answer is that Jesus himself saw His life as a fulfillment of Scripture and taught his disciples to view it that way

— On the road to Emmaus with the two travelers the risen Christ chided them on their slowness to believe the OT writers

“Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” ( Luke 24:25-27 )

The Crimson thread of the OT

— God has been announcing from the very beginning of his dealings with the human race the good news

— He started in Gen 3:15 which was the first announcement of the gospel

— And He announced Elijah as Christ’s forerunner in Malachi 4:5

— This is the key to understanding the entire OT; the so-called backstory

— God saving men and women through the work of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as he announced He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures

Q: Earlier we read Paul preaching in Acts 3 and quoting Ps 2:7: You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. In what sense is Jesus the Son of God? How can He be both God and the Son ( 1:3-4 )?

The Person of the Good News ( 1:3-4 )

( 1:3-4 ) concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

— In His humanness Jesus was born of the seed of David according to the flesh

— Had He not been a descendant He could not have been the Messiah, for prophecy concerning Him must be fulfilled

— Both Mary ( Luke 3:23, 31 ), Jesus’ natural mother, and Joseph ( Matt 1:6, 16; Luke 1:27 ), Jesus’ legal father, were descendants of David

— In order to fulfill prophecy the Messiah had to be a descendant of David ( II Sam 7:12, 13, 16; Ps 89:3, 4, 24; 132:17; Isa 11:1-5, 10; Jer 23:5, 6; 30:9; 33; 14-16; Ezek 34:23, 24; 37:24; Matt 1:1; Lk 1:27, 32, 33, 69; 3:23-31; John 7:42; Acts 2:30; II Tim 2:8; Rev 5:5; 22:16 )

— He was born of a human family and shared human life with all other humanity, identifying Himself with fallen mankind, yet living without sin ( Phil 2:4-8 )

Deist

— Many people believe that Jesus was just a man and not God

— The Deist Thomas Jefferson believed Jesus existed as a man but not in His divinity

— He produced an edition of the Bible that eliminated all references to the supernatural; his “gospels” were pertained to purely physical facts and events

Son of God

— It was at the time that He became a human being, that Jesus was declared the Son of God

— From all eternity He was the Son of God, but during His period of humiliation His power, in its fullest degree, was, as it were, hidden from view

— He was the Son of God from eternity in expectation and was declared as such in His incarnation

— “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ( Ps 2:7 )

—For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”? ( Heb 1:5 )

— Christ humbled Himself and put aside His glory and majesty to dwell with us ( Phil 2:5-8 )

Douglas Moo

— What is the meaning of the word we have translated designated, declared?

— Some think it should be translated declared; the resurrection declared that Jesus was the “Son of God”

— But the verb does not appear to have this meaning in first-century Greek

— In its seven other NT occurrences, the verb means “determine, appoint, fix” and we must assume that the word has this meaning here also: the Son has been “appointed” Son of God by God the Father by virtue of His resurrection

— Paul probably alludes to Psalm 2:7 here and speaks of this in Acts 13:33

Jesus as God

Paying Taxes

— When asked to pay taxes He complied. As God He was exempt from paying taxes

— To told Peter to thrown a hook in the sea and you will find a coin to pay our taxes ( Matt 17:27 )

— In His humanness He willingly payed taxes, but in His divinity He provided payment supernaturally

Calm the sea

— Asleep in the boat a storm threatened to capsize the boat

— Jesus calmed the sea with a word ( Mark 4:38-39 )

— In His humanness He was exhausted, yet in His divinity He was able to instantly calm a violent storm

The Trinity

— In the opening verses of Romans Paul introduces us to the trinity

— Paul is a bondservant of Jesus Christ ( 1:1a )

— He was separated to the gospel of God ( 1:1c)

— And His son was declared to be the Son of God according to the Holy Spirit ( 1:3c )

D. Grey Barnhouse

— In the creation we find the work done by all three of the Godhead

— Genesis commences with the work of God the Father: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1)

— But the Gospel of John ascribes this same work to the Lord Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1, 3)

— And we read again in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit is the Creator, for “by his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens” (Job 26:13), and “the Spirit of God hath made me” (Job 33:4 )

Man a Trinity

— This is all the more remarkable, when we realize that in the account of the creation God has said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26)

— The image of God in which man was made has nothing to do with his bodily form, but is rather in his moral and intellectual likeness, and especially in the fact that man is himself a trinity

— The Lord Jesus Christ told the woman at the well that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)

St. Augustine

— It was St. Augustine who spoke of the fact that God is love, and used this as a proof of the Trinity

— Love must have an object

— So there was the eternal Father, the source of all love, the eternal Son, the object of that love, and the eternal Spirit of love between them

— And these three are one

— We do not believe that there are three Gods, but that there is one true God who is in three persons

Power

Boice

— The most common way of understanding these words is to relate “with power” to “his resurrection”

— The “Spirit of Holiness” would be the Holy Spirit

—A second view, held by Charles Hodge and F. Godet, links “with power” to Christ’s deity

It is significant, however, that in the Greek text the words “with power” follow immediately after the words “Son of God” so that the text literally reads:” … declared the Son of God with power according to a spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.” This gives us a third understanding of what is going on in this sentence. In this view thew words “with power” are linked to “Son of God,” so that we might more properly understand Paul to be speaking of “the Son of God with Power” or “the powerful Son of God,” which he is declared to be by the resurrection.

The Provision of the Good News ( 1:5a) ( 1:5a )

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship

— Two important provisions of the good news

— God’s grace

— Vocation, which in Paul’s case was apostleship

Grace

— Unmerited favor in which we can contribute nothing ( Eph 2:8-9 )

— Grace is God’s loving mercy, through which He grants salvation as a gift to those who trust in His Son as Lord and Savior

— Salvation does not come by

— Baptism

— Confirmation

— Communion

— Church membership or attendance

— by keeping the Ten Commandments

— By serving other people or even God

— It does not come by being morally upright, respectable, and self-giving

— And it does not come by simply believing Jesus is the Son of God; even the demons recognize that truth ( Mark 5:7; James 2:19 )

Vocation

— Another provision of the good news of God is His calling believers into His service

— Paul was called be an apostle to the gentiles ( Acts 9:1-19; 18:9, 10; 22:6-21; 26:12-18; Rom 15:15, 16 )

— Every believer is a “messenger” and a “witness”

— The Lord never provides conversion without commission

— Two otherwise unknown leaders in the early church, Andronicus and Junias, were referred to by Paul as being “outstanding among the apostles, who were in Christ before me” ( Rom 16:7 )

— Luke refers to Barnabas as an apostle ( Acts 14:14 )

— The term apostolos is also applied to Epaphroditus (“messenger,” Phil 2:25 ) as well as some unnamed workers in, or known by, the church in Corinth (“messengers,” 2 Cor 8:23 )

— But those men, godly as they were, did not have the office of apostleship as did Paul and the Twelve

— Andronicus, Junias, Barnabas, and Epaphroditus were apostles only in the sense that every believer is an apostle, a called and sent ambassador of Jesus Christ

The Proclamation and Purpose of the Good News ( 1:5b-6 )

( 1:5b-6 ) for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ

— We are called not only to salvation and service but to witness for Christ in order to bring about the obedience of faith in others ( cf. Rom 16:25-26 )

— A person who claims faith in Christ but whose pattern of life is utter disobedience to God’s Word has never been redeemed and is living a lie

— Faith that does not manifest itself in obedient living is spurious and worthless ( James 2:14-26 )

— The message of the Gospel is to call people to the obedience of the faith, which is used here as a synonym for salvation

— To call men to the obedience of the faith is to fulfill the Great Commission, to bring men to Jesus Christ and to the observance of everything He commands in His Word ( Matt 28:20 )

Obedience

D. G. Barnhouse

— This phrase — “the obedience of faith” — occurs both at the beginning at the end of this great epistle

— but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— ( 16:26 )

— Our faith is not primarily occupied with what we do for God but what He has done for us

— We surrender our lives to Him so that we are occupied with the Saviour and not with forms and liturgies

— This is the obedience of the faith: to be occupied with Christ so that He permeates our whole life

MacArthur

— It is not that faith plus obedience equals salvation, but that obedient faith equals salvation

— True faith is verified in obedience

— Paul commends the Roman believers

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

— For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. ( Rom 16:19 )

— In the first instance Paul specifically commends their faith, and in the second instance he specifically commends their obedience

— Together, faith and obedience manifest the inseparable two sides of the same coin of salvation, which Paul here calls the obedience of faith

Boice

— This verse will appear in different translations

— The NIV translates it as “ to the obedience that comes from faith”

— It could be thought of as the obedience that faith produces

— It is true that faith without works is dead ( Ja 2:17 )

— But a proper interpretation is “unto obedience, the very nature of faith” or “faith, which is obedience”

— The gospel must be preached as a command

Do you remember how Paul concluded his great sermon to the Athenians? “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed… (Acts 17:30-31, italics mine). In God’s name, Paul commanded the Greeks to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus

It is the same in Romans. In Romans 6:17 Paul summarizes the response of the Roman Christians to the gospel by saying, “Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted” (italics mine, here and in subsequent citations).

In Romans 10 he argues that the Jews “did not submit to God’s righteousness” (v. 3)

In verse 16 he says, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel...” (KJV)

By failing to present the gospel as a command to be obeyed we minimize sin, trivialize discipleship, rob God of His glory,and delude some into thinking that all is well with their souls when actually they are without Christ and perishing

Paul said “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect “ ( 1 Cor 15:9-10, emphasis added). How could one so rebellious be brought to his knees before Jesus. There is only one answer. It was the grace of God. Only the grace of God can produce such changes. Only a gracious god would want to.

Why is that we so easily fall into either of two wrong emphases when we present the gospel? Either we present the gospel as something so easy and simplistic that it fails to deal with sin and does not even produce conversions. Or else we present a harsh gospel, forgetting that it is only the love of God and not the condemnation of the law that wins anybody.

Q: What is the primary purpose of the Gospel? Was it for man or for God ( 1:5c-6 )?

( 1:5c-6 ) for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ

— Although God gave His own Son to save the world ( John 3:16 ) and does not wish for any man to perish ( 2 Pet 3:9 ), it must be recognized that the primary purpose of the gospel is not for man’s sake but God’s, for His name sake

— I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. ( 1 Jn 2:12 )

— He shall see His seed, ... He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. ( Is 53:10-11 )

— Man’s salvation is simply a by-product of God’s grace; its main focus is to display God’s glory

— God loves fallen and helpless mankind and salvation is important for man’s sake

— But because of His own perfection salvation is infinitely more important to Him for His sake

— This is a stumbling block for many Christians

— When we are saved, God is glorified, because the gift of salvation is entirely of God

— Paul declared, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. “( Phil 2:10-11 )

Hendriksen

The Called

— Speaking by and large, the apostle rejoices in being able to state that Rome’s membership had not only been invited to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but had also, by God’s sovereign grace, responded favorably to the invitation

— Paul is speaking therefore about what is often termed “the effectual call” ( Rom 8:28, 30; 9:24; 1 Cor 1:9, 24, 26, etc. )

The Privileges of the Good News ( 1:7 )

( 1:7 ) To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved of God

— One of the most repeated and emphasized truths is that God loves those who belong to Him

— Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. ( Ps 25:6; cf. 26:3 )

— How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. ( Ps 36:7 )

— I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. ( Is 63:7 )

— The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. ( Jer 31:3 )

— But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) ( Eph 2:4-5 )

— Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ( 1 John 3:1 )

D.G Barnhouse

— Some one may object that all men are beloved of God

— While this is true in one sense, it is not true in another

— God so loved the world — the whole world — that He gave His only begotten Son

— But to the believer it is written, “Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” ( 1 Jn 3:1 )

— This is in line, of course, with the teaching of the whole bible that God is creator of all men, but that He is the Father only of those who are beloved because of their relationship to Him in His Son, the Lord Jesus

— If you want to be among the beloved of God, you must be made accepted in Christ ( Ep 1:6 )

— The same holds true in our earthly family; I am enjoined to love all men, but my family is my beloved

— The unsaved are never called the beloved of God

called to be saints

— Paul is not speaking of the general call for men to believe ( Is 45:22; 55:6; Ezek 33:11; Matt 11:28; John 7:37; Rev 22:17 )

— This is the specific way in which those who have responded to His invitation have been sovereignly and effectually called by God to Himself in salvation

— Called is here a synonym for the terms “elect” and “predestined” (cf. Ro 8:30 )

— From our limited viewpoint, it may seem that we first came to God through an act of our will, but we know from His Word that we could not have sought Him by faith unless He had already chosen us by the gracious act of His sovereign will

— When used in the NT epistles, called to salvation always refers to the efficacious calls that save, never the general invitations

— The doctrine of election is clearly taught in the NT ( cf. Matt 20:15-16; John 15:16; 17:9; Acts 13:48; Rom 9:14-15; 11:5; 1 Cor 1:9; Eph 2:8-10; Col 1:3-5; 1 Thess 1:4-5; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 1:9; 2:10; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Rev 13:8; 17:8, 14 )

Hendriksen

— Interpreters have spared no effort in calling attention to called to be saints, which is a wrong translation and that is not what Paul says

— Paul is saying that by grace they are even now saints (called as saints NASB)

— Paul knew that during the OT dispensation there were certain places, objects, and people that had been “set apart” and “consecrated” for service to God; for example, the holy place (1 Kings 8:10); the priests ( Lev 21:6-7 ); and even the Israelites as a whole, viewed as distinct from other nations ( Exod 19:6; Lev 20:26; Deut 7:6; Dan 7:22 )

— It is this idea which in the NT is applied to Christians generally; They are the “elect, royal priesthood, holy nation, people for God’s own possession” ( 1 Pet 2:9 )

— A saint, then, is a person whose guilt has been blotted out on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, and who consequently, by means of the power of the indwelling Spirit, strives to live to God’s glory

— He is one who has been set apart and consecrated for service

D. G. Barnhouse

— This is the new name of the redeemed

— The old name was sinners

— When man wants to become a saint, there is an official way to proceed

— First, the church appoints a committee to bring charges against the person’s memory and the head of the committee is known as the Devil’s advocate; the soul of the individual is supposed to be in purgatory suffering for the sins of this life

— After the committee completes its file, it is given to another committee which brings a defense, bringing in witnesses if possible

— The evidence is secured of supposed healings or miracles performed at the grave of the candidate or by some relic in connection with him

— A trial is held, sometimes after years, and if the defendant is found innocent, the highest ecclesiastical authority in that particular church beatifies the candidate

— Then after another long wait, the beatified candidate passes through another ceremony called canonization and is declared to be a saint

— All of this is quite apart from what the Bible calls a saint

— The Philippian jailer was at one moment on the point of suicide and the other moment he was saved, and was a saint

— Act saintly — To all the saints there comes the tremendous warning, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” ( Rev 3:11 )

Grace and Peace

— The only ones who can experience the blessings of grace of peace are those who are

— beloved, called and the holy ones of God (saints)

— Grace brings peace

— The latter is both a state, that of reconciliation with God, and a condition, the inner conviction that consequently all is well

— This peace is not the reflection of a blue sky with a backdrop of mountains in a tranquil lake

— Rather, the cleft of the rock in which the Lord hides His children when the storm is raging

— Or, the hiding place under the wings, to which the hen gather her brood, so that little chicks are safe while the storm rages ( Ps 91:4 )

D.G. Barnhouse

( 1:7b ) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

— In the first verse He is called Jesus Christ

— In the third verse, He is called God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord

— In the fourth verse, He is called Jesus Christ

— And here He is called Lord Jesus Christ

— Jesus comes from the Greek Iasous, which in turn comes from the Hebrew Yoshua, (Joshua) which mean Saviour

— The name, Christ is from the Greek Christos, which is from the Hebrew Moshea, which means Messiah

— The title Lord is from the Greek Kurious, which is the Hebrew translation of God, Jehovah

— We can see the difference Paul makes in emphasis; at times He is Savior Messiah; Here He is Savior Messiah, our Jehovah

Spiritual Leadership ( 1:8-15 )

( 1:8-15 ) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Q: What motivates you to want to serve the Lord? ( 1:8-15 )

— Some serve out of fear, of losing their salvation

— Some, like Diotrophes ( 3 John 9 ) serve because of the prestige and esteem that leadership brings

— Others serve because of pressure to conform to some moral standards

— Unless our motives are to glorify God they are not acceptable to Him ( 1 Cor 10:31 )

— Paul starts the letter by telling of his sincere spiritual motives in wanting to minister to them

— Even though he never visited the church he was deeply concerned about their spiritual welfare

— In these verses Paul suggests nine marks of true spiritual service: a thankful spirit ( v. 8 ), a concerned spirit ( v9-10a ), a willing and submissive spirit ( v. 10b ), a loving spirit ( v. 11 ), a humble spirit ( v. 12 ), a fruitful spirit ( v. 13 ), an obedient spirit ( v. 14 ), an eager spirit ( v. 15 ). A tenth, a bold spirit, is mentioned in v. 16a

A Thankful Spirit ( 1:8 )

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

— No Gentile and few Jews would have referred to God with a personal pronoun

— For Paul, God was not a theological abstraction but a beloved Savior and close friend

— Paul thanks God through Jesus, the mediator between God and man ( John 14:6; 1 Tim 2:5; Heb 4:16 )

Thankful

— Paul was thankful

— He wrote this epistle while in Corinth, where at the time the Jews were plotting to kill him ( Acts 20:3 )

— Paul wrote his prison epistles during this first Roman imprisonment and thanked the believers to whom he wrote ( Eph 1:16; Phil 1:3, Col 1:3; Philem 4 )

— During his second Roman imprisonment, he may have spent time in the wretched Mamertine prison

— If so, we can be sure that he was thankful even there, although the city sewage system ran through the prison

Q: How could Paul remain thankful despite his circumstances ?

— Paul had a thankful heart because he continually focused on what God was doing in his own life, in the lives of other faithful believers, and in the advancement of His kingdom

A Concerned Spirit ( 1:9-10 )

( 1:9 ) For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Service λατρεύω (latreuō), serve; worship

— This Greek word is always used to describe religious service, sometimes translated worship

— The greatest worship a believer can offer God is devoted, pure, heart-felt ministry

— Paul served God with everything he had, beginning with his spirit

— Paul’s primary service was the preaching of the gospel of His Son

— Despite having never met the church in Rome, he was moved with great concern, praying for them without ceasing

Q: What specifically did Paul pray for the saints in Rome?

— We don’t know the specifics from this letter

— But from Paul’s other letters we can surmise what he might have prayed for these believers

— He prayed that they be strengthen and that they know the love of God

— For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ( Eph 3:14-19 )

— He prayed that they would grow in discernment and that they would not approve of things that are vile and just not go with the crowd, but live lives of righteousness

— And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God ( Phil 1:9-11 )

— He also prayed that the church would know God’s ( revealed ) will and follow it

— For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ( Col 1:9-11 )

God’s Revealed Will

— God’s revealed will for every believer; this is not the will of God that He will do

— This is the will of God expressed towards us, which we will or will not do

He will that all men repent and be saved ( 1 Tim 2:3; 2 Pet 3:39 )

His will, secondly, is that you not operate in ignorance and foolishness, but that you understand that God’s will is that you be filled with the Holy Spirit, rather than being drunk with wine and conducting yourself in a dissipated way. ( Eph 5:17 )

Third, you should abstain from sexual immorality, pornography, and sex before marriage ( 1 Thess 4:3-4; 1 Pet 4:2 ); He wants you spirit controlled and separated from sin; stop lusting and start pursuing sanctification

Forth, submit yourself to God ( James 4:7 ) to your pastor and elders ( Heb 13:7, 17 ), to our government ( 1 Pet 2:13 ), and to one another ( Eph 5 :17)

His will is that you suffer (1 Pet 3:17; 1 Pet 2:20; 2 Tim 3:12 ), He is pleased when we suffer and endure it, speaking of righteous suffering, not suffering because of sin

Finally, He wills that we be thankful ( 1 Thess 5:18 )

Prayers

( 1:9b ) that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Q: Paul said he was praying constantly without ceasing. Do you think he was exaggerating at bit ( 1:9)?

Boice

— Prayer is consistent with fervent service

— We have examples of men like

— Martin Luther

— John Calvin

— Jonathan Edwards

— Luther said that he had so much to do in a day that he could not get through it without spending at least three or four hours on his knees before God each morning

— We acknowledge that some people are given a special ministry in prayer

A Willing and Submissive Spirit ( 1:10 )

( 1:10 )making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

— Paul was eager to be used by God and come to them to them to minister

— It is easier to pray for others to be used by the Lord than to pray that He uses us!

— it is easier to Give than to Go

— But Paul, like Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me” ( Isa 6:8 )

A Loving Spirit ( 1:11 )

( 1:11 ) For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—

— Another aspect of spiritual service is a loving spirit

— Paul wanted to go to Rome not to entertain or indulge himself, but to serve them

— Spiritual gift here is not the gift of salvation, or the spiritual gifts of chapter 12, which are bestowed by the Spirit Himself and not the apostle, therefore, he is using the term in the broadest sense, referring to any kind of divinely-empowered spiritual benefit he could bring by preaching, teaching, exhorting, praying, and guiding

A Humble Spirit ( 1:12 )

( 1:12 ) that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

— Paul was highly-gifted but never thought that he was above being spiritually edified by other believers

— Paul, the greatest theologian who ever lived, was also one of the most humble men of all

— He was eager to be spiritually helped by all the believers of the church at Rome, young as well as old, mature as well as immature

— It is unfortunate that many gifted leaders think that they have noting to learn from new believers, or young believers have nothing to offer their pastor

— When he about to board a ship to India to begin missionary service there, some of William Carey’s friends asked if he wanted to go through with his plans. Expressing great desire for their support in prayer, he is said to have replied, “I will go down [into the pit itself] if you will hold the rope

A Fruitful Spirit ( 1:13 )

( 1:13 ) Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.

— Paul often used the term I do not want you to be unaware when he was about to call attention to something important ( Rom 11:25; 1 Cor 12:1; 1 Thess 4:13 )

— Here, he tells the Romans that he was prevented from coming

Unanswered Prayer

— It is one thing to pray selfishly and not have our prayers answered

— But what about when our “spiritual” prayers are not answered

Boice

— We have at least one example of Paul praying out of the will of God in his prayers to visit Jerusalem with gifts of the Gentile churches

— Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem

— After we went, the Lord appeared to him to say, “Leave Jerusalem immediately… “ ( Acts 22:18 )

— Paul did not leave and was eventually imprisoned

— It is significant that as an apostle, he did not always have his prayers answered

To Bear Fruit

— His prayer to the Romans is that his trip would bear some fruit

— The purpose of all true ministry for God is to bear fruit

— You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain ( Jn 15:16 )

Q: In Paul’s thinking what was included in this spiritual fruit ? Is it more than a single idea in the bible?

— The bible uses the term spiritual fruit in three different ways

— It is an attitude that characterizes the Christian; the nine-fold “fruit of the Spirit”

— But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ( Gal 5:22-23 )

— Spiritual fruit refers to action

— But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ( Rom 6:22 )

— The active fruit of a Christian’s lips is praise ( Heb 13:15 )

— The active fruit of his hands is giving ( Phil 4:16-17 ); “profit” is literally fruit

— Fruit also means addition, the increase of convert to Christ and the increase of their spiritual growth in Him

— Paul wanted to be used to help the Roman church grow through new converts and grow in sanctification

Hendricksen

— What is important to notice is how very close is the relationship between the mind of Christ and the mind of Paul

— Did not our Lord emphasize the necessity of fruit bearing? ( Jn 15:1-8; Matt 9:36-38; 11:28; Jn 4:35; 7:37, 38 )

— some fruit ...just as among the other Gentiles

— What a humble manner of describing the rich and abundant harvest of families and individuals which had been won to the Lord by Paul’s ministry ! ( Acts 13:48; 14:21-23; 16:14-15; 31-34; 17:4, 12, 34; 18:14; 19:10, 18-20 )

— Paul’s humility was indeed profound, an example for us all

— And of whom does this meekness, humility and kindness remind us ( Is 42:1-4; Matt 12:18-21 )

An Obedient Spirit ( 1:14 )

( 1:14 ) I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

— Paul was under obligation to God on behalf of the Gentiles ( Rom 1:5; Acts 9:15 )

— He was also under obligation to the Roman believers because of their spiritual need

— That is the kind of obligation we have towards someone whose house is on fire; we have an obligation to help

— Greek and barbarians…wise and unwise

— Paul was expressing his obligation to the educated and uneducated, sophisticated and simple

— The gospel is the great equalizer, because every human being is equally lost without it and equally saved by it

— There was and is one message for both, one and the same way of salvation

An Eager Spirit ( 1:15 )

( 1:15 ) So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

— He was eager to go preach the gospel in Rome and compelled to go

— He was compelled to go to Jerusalem, although he knew great dander awaited him there ( Acts 20:22-23 )

— That absolute commitment was shared by Epaphroditus, who “came close to death for the work of Christ” ( Phil 2:30 )

Justification by Faith ( 1:16-8:39 )

The Gospel of Christ ( 1:16-17 )

( 1:16-17 ) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

— The final characteristic of spiritual service is a bold spirit

— Paul was not ashamed of the gospel

— Imprisoned in Philippi

— Chased out of Thessalonica

— Smuggled out of Damascus and Berea

— Laughed at in Athens

— Considered a fool in Corinth

— Declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem

— Stoned and left for dead in Lystra

— It is a sin to be ashamed of our Lord, but we easily fall into it

— We know the gospel is unattractive, intimidating, and repulsive to the natural, unsaved person

— The gospel exposes man’s sin, wickedness, depravity, and lostness, and it declares pride to be despicable and works righteousness to be worthless in God’s sin

— When people hear that they direct their insults at us

— The fear of man is our greatest snare in witnessing

— The so-called health and prosperity gospel is not offensive because it offers people what they want; but that is like the teaching of the Judaizers, it is “a different gospel” ( Gal 1:6-7 )

Power ( 1:16b )

( 1:16b ) for it is the power of God

— The gospel is power, omnipotence of God, whose power alone is enough to save men from sin and give them eternal life

— Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil ( Jer 13:23 )

— We cannot be changed or saved by doing good works, only through the power of God

— Later in Romans, Paul declares man’s impotence and God’s power, saying, “While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” ( Rom 5:6; cf. Rom 8:3; 1 Pet 1:12; 1 Cor 1:18; John 1:12 )

Salvation ( 1:16b )

( 16:b ) to salvation

— Salvation is the greatest display of God’s power

— God transforms our lives and gives us eternal life

— Salvation brings us deliverance from the spiritual infection of “this perverse generation” ( Acts 2:40 ), from lostness ( Matt 18:11 ), from sin ( Matt 1:21 ), and from the wrath of God ( Rom 5:9 )

D.G Barnhouse

— Salvation carries with it three meanings in the Greek

— We have been saved from the penalty of sin in the present

— We have been saved from the power of sin

— And in the future we will be saved from the presence of sin

— Chapters 3 & 4 are concerned with salvation from the penalty of sin, chapters 5-7 from the power of sin, and chapter 8 takes us forward to salvation from the presence of sin

— And the epistle closes with a triumphant promise in the last paragraph, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” ( Rom 16:20 )

Faith ( 1:16d )

( 16:d ) for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

— believes carries the idea of trusting in, relying on, having faith in

— We trust that the car is safe, and that the plane will arrive safely

— Salvation is not national but given to everyone who believes

— It was given to the Jews chronologically first and then Gentiles

Hendriksen

— The gospel of salvation is essentially the same in both the Old and New dispensations

— However, in the divine economy it was revealed first of all to the Jews

— During the old dispensation they were a highly privileged nation ( Ps 147:19-20; Amos 3:2 )

— When Jesus sent His disciples out for the first time, He sent them only “to the the lost sheep of the house of Israel” ( Matt 10:5-6 )

— It is useless to deny this, for on this subject Scripture expresses itself very clearly; even during the old dispensation God had made it clear that salvation was not going to to be limited to one nation ( Gen 12:3; 22:18; Ps 72; 87; Is 60:1-3; 61:1-3; Mal 1:11 )

— Similarly, be divine direction, when the Jews refused to accept the gospel, the apostles proclaimed it to the Gentiles ( Acts 13:46; 18:5-6; 19:8-9 )

— By divine inspiration Paul teaches that the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile has been completely broken down ( Eph 2:11-22 ) and that there is no longer any distinction ( Rom 10:11-12 )

— The gospel became the power of God for salvation to every true believer

What is not the gospel

D. G. Barnhouse

— A preacher trying to move our country to socialism or communism is not preaching the gospel

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel as he moved towards Rome. It was a city of slaves but he would not center his preaching against slavery. It was a city of lust but he would not center his preaching on moral reform. It was a city of economic injustice but he would not center his preaching on momentary palliatives. It was a city built on war’s rapacity but he would not center his preaching on pacifism. Anyone who seeks to preach in such directions cannot find his texts in the Bible. It is true, of course, that here and there, there are the verses which show that peace and righteousness and justice are the by-products of the Christian faith, but these must be attained not by centering our preaching on their necessity or their moral rightness, but by setting forth the power which alone can bring them into being and practice in individual lives.

And the word “gospel” has been bandied about until people speak of the social gospel, and present other systems and doctrines under the name of “gospel” which the Bible itself says is another gospel. Paul writes to the Galatians, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there are some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:6–9).

What is the gospel?

D.G. Barnhouse

The first chapters of this epistle contain the terrible diagnosis of the present condition of the human soul, totally estranged from God, lying in spiritual death, without hope, without strength, incapable of doing anything for itself beyond a temporary bandaging of some of its lesser wounds. In these chapters the soul is seen as totally apart from God, totally unable and incapable of doing anything for its ultimate salvation, and yet totally responsible to the God who created it. It was for these reasons that salvation had to begin with God, and had to be His work. The great good news of the gospel is that God did begin the work of reconciling the world to Himself; that He came in Christ, the Word made flesh, and dwelt among us in order to complete the three historical events which make salvation possible. He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures. The entire work of salvation was thus accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, and now it can be applied to the individual. This is the good news which we have to bring to men, and this work is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

Righteousness ( 1:17 )

( 1:17 ) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

— This is Martin Luther’s text

Faith to faith

D.G. Barnhouse

The Greek is very interesting—ek pisteos eis pistin. It is literally that the righteousness of God is revealed out of faith and into faith. In other words, God does not speak to you directly from heaven, but He comes out of the faith of one heart into the faith of another. The righteousness of God is communicated to me out of the testimony of another man’s faith into the receptivity of my faith. And the righteousness of God will be communicated to many out of the testimony of my faith into the receptivity of their faith. One man preaches and another man believes. There is no man in this world who was ever saved apart from the instrumentality of another believer who first set forth the gospel. If you say that you were saved in the loneliness of your own room, I answer that the bud bloomed when you were alone but that the seed was planted and watered by men. Someone gave the money by faith to print the tract, or to print the Bible that you read. Faith came to your heart through the intermediary of faith in a believer’s heart.

Hendricksen

— Taken by itself, without reference to context, the expression here rendered righteousness from God could be translated as righteousness of God ( as it is in the NKJV and NIV )

— A better rendering is from God, indicating that He imparts his own Righteousness to those who believe

— This text brought much of the church out of the wilderness of wanderings and back to the path of the truth of God ( D.G. Barnhouse )

— The question then is, “What does this mean?”

— How Luther struggled with this problem!

— How it bothered him… until one day, rather suddenly, by divine illumination he realized that what was meant here was not God’s retributive justice but the righteousness freely imputed to the sinner by God’s sovereign grace, on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, and the sinner’s own possession by means of God-given faith

D.G. Barnhouse

— When our text tells us that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God, it is saying that God must inevitably demand of man that which man can never furnish by himself

Douglas Moo

(1) This expression might refer to an attribute of God. Two distinct possibilities

(a) Righteousness is God’s justice or rectitude

— Contemporary scholars, while often giving this meaning to the phrase in 3:5 and 3:25-26, rarely do so in 1:17; for the context requires a positive meaning for the phrase

(b) A second meaning takes its point of departure from the alleged OT meaning of “God righteousness”: God’s faithfulness especially to his covenant with Israel

— This meaning has become very popular in recent studies

— Again, few scholars think that 1:17 could be understood in this way

(2) “Righteousness of God” in 1:17 might refer to a status given by God

Luther’s personal spiritual struggle ended with his realization that God’s righteousness meant not “the righteousness by which he is righteous in himself but the righteousness by which we are made right with God.” Not the distributive justice by which God impartially rules and governs the world, but a righteousness that is not one’s own, a new standing imparted to the sinner who believes — this was what made Paul’s message “good news” to Luther. In contrast to both Augustine and most medieval theologians, Luther viewed this righteousness as purely forensic — a matter of judicial standing, or status, and not of internal renewal or moral transformation. This understanding of “righteousness of God” stands at the heart of Luther’s theology and has been a hallmark of Protestant interpretation. On this view, Paul is asserting that the gospel reveals “the righteous status that is from God.”

(3) “Righteousness of God” in 1:17 might denote an activity of God

— The Greek term in the LXX has the idea of “establishing right”

— Especially significant are the many places in the Psalms and Isaiah where God’s righteousness refers to His salvific intervention on behalf of His people

— Probably 16 other occurences of the phrase have this same general sense ( Pss. 22:31; 35:28; 40:10; 69:27; 71:15; 16, 19, 24; 88:12; 98:2; 119:123; Mic 6:5; 7:9; Isa 51:5, 6, 8 )

— If Paul is using this “biblical” meaning of the word, then his point here would be that the gospel manifests “the saving action of God.”

Most interpreters make a decision at this point, choosing either activity or status and offering more or less convincing explanations of that data that appear to conflict with the view they have chosen. But must we make this choice? Do we have to choose between theology (God acting) and anthropology (the human being who receives) — as some have stated the dilemma? Could we not take “righteousness of God” here to include both God’s activity of “making right” — saving, vindicating — and the status of those who are so made right, in a relational sense that bridges the divine and the human? The LXX usage, out of which Paul’s use of the phrase grows, makes it likely that “the righteousness of God” is first of all the saving intervention of God in history, predicated by the prophets, manifested on the cross, and constantly made effective in the preaching of the gospel. But God’s righteousness never operates in a vacuum, and the OT occurrences often allude also to the situation or status of those who experience God’s saving intervention. Partly because he needs to distance his interpretation of God’s righteousness from the prevalent Jewish view, in which works and law play so prominent a role (cf. 3:21; 10:3), Paul insists that God’s righteousness can be experienced only through faith: “For Paul the righteousness of God is essentially a righteousness that comes by faith.” His theology also leads him to develop the idea of righteousness as an enduring, judicial status far beyond anything found in the OT. This emphasis shifts the focus of the phrase a bit with respect to its OT usage, although, as we have said, the dual aspect of God’s righteousness as both divine activity and human status does have its antecedents in the OT

MacArthur

— It is not only revealed but reckoned to those who believe in Christ ( Rom 4:5; cf. Phil 3:8-9 )

— It is not revealed to the five senses of man, but it revealed from faith to faith ( D.G. Barnhouse)

— The just shall live by faith is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4

— Abraham, the father of the faithful, believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness ( Rom 4:3, cf. Heb 11:4-40 )

— There is emphasis here on the continuity of faith

— it is not a one time act, but a way of life

— Theologians have called this “the perseverance of the saints” ( cf. Col 1:22-23; Heb 3:12-14 )

Hendricksen

— The words as it is written show that Paul is basing his presentation on the OT

— For Paul and his audience, the OT presented both righteousness and salvation as a treasure which belongs to Jehovah

— By sovereign grace He bestows it as a gift on all who trust in Him

— Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” ( Is 12:2 )

— I have waited for your salvation, O Lord! ( Gen 49:18 )

— Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah ( Ps 3:8 )

— Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. ( Ps 25:5 )

— The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? ( Ps 27:1; cf. Ps 98:1-2; 118:14; 119:174; Is 46:13; 51:5-8; 54:17; 61:10; 62:1 )

Habakkuk

— Habakkuk appeared during the reign of wicked Jehoiakim

— What bothered Habakkuk was that it seemed that wicked men were getting away with their wickedness; and Jehovah apparently tolerated such evils as the exploitation of the needy, strife, contention, violence, etc.

— So the prophet beings to asks questions addressed to Jehovah, he complains, objects and waits for an answer

— Habakkuk’s first question amounted to this, “Why does Jehovah allow the wicked in Judah to oppress the righteous? ( Hab 1:2-4 )

— Jehovah answers, “Evil-doers will be punished. The Babylonians are coming” ( Hab 1:5-11 )

— But Habakkuk is not satisfied and asks, “Why does Jehovah allow the Babylonians to punish the Jews, who at least are more righteous than these foreigners?” ( Hab 1:12-2:1)

— The answer arrives: “The Babylonians too, will be punished. In fact all sinners will be punished.... but the righteous shall live by faith” ( Hab 2:2-20 )

— It is Habakkuk’s duty and privilege to trust, and to do this even then when he is not able to “figure out” the justice of Jehovah’s doings

— One question worries the prophet: “Upon whom is Jehovah’s wrath going to all? Merely upon the realm of nature? Upon Judah perhaps? Finally, the answer arrives: Jehovah destroys the Babylonians and delivers His people

— While the vision of God has been terrifying, Habakkuk has witnessed that Jehovah has come to the defense of His own people and he no longer questions the ways of God’s providence

— Paul could not have chosen a better prophecy from which to quote; the passage fits the situation exactly!

— In every age and in all circumstances, hence in connection with the question, “What must I do to be accepted by God?” it remains true that The righteous shall live by faith

Q: Many gospel presentations fail to mention the wrath of God. What is wrong with that kind of invitation to follow Christ ( 1:18 )?

Boice

— Today’s preaching is deficient at many points

— But there is no point at which it is more evidently inadequate and even explicitly contrary to the teaching of the NT than in its neglect of “the wrath of God”

— Wrath is either an unimportant doctrine, an embarrassment or entirely wrong notion which enlightened Christians should avoid

— It has been replaced with “felt” needs because it establishes a connection with the listener and wins a hearing

— We want to establish a connection between the listener and God

— Paul tells Timothy not to cater to felt needs

“3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;” ( 2 Tim 4:3 )

— Wrath has been replaced by the “Prosperity Gospel”

— Paul knew that for us to have a right relationship with God we must first recognized that we are not in a right relationship with Him

( 1:18 ) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

— The idea of a wrathful God goes against the wishful thinking of fallen human nature

— A person cannot appreciate the wonder of God’s grace until he knows about the perfect demands of God’s law

— A person cannot appreciate God’s forgiveness until he knows the eternal consequences of sins that require a penalty and need forgiving

Wrath ὀργή (orgē), refers to settled, determined indignation, to grow ripe for something ( John 3:36; Rom 9:22; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6 )

— Wrath builds up over a long time, like water collecting behind a great dam

— Not emotional, momentary or uncontrolled rage

— His attributes are balanced in divine perfection

— He perfectly hates just as He perfectly loves ( Ps 45:7; Heb 1:9 )

— One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity, is the failure to preach and teach the wrath of God and the condemnation it brings upon all with unforgiven sin

— The truncated, sentimental gospel that is frequently presented today falls short of the gospel that Jesus and the apostle Paul proclaimed

— The gospel of John, which speak so eloquently of God’s love an graciousness, also speaks powerfully of His anger and wrath

— The comforting words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”

— are followed closely by the warning, “He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him” ( John 3:16, 36 )

— Paul wanted the Corinthians that anyone who did not love the Lord Jesus was to be eternally cursed ( 1 Cor 16:22 )

— He said to the Ephesians, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” ( Eph 5:6 )

— He warned the Colossians that because of “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry…the wrath of God will come” ( Col 3:5-6 )

— It is the truth that both grace and wrath proceed from the cross of Christ, that both righteousness and wrath are revealed in the gospel

The Wrath of God

—The time of tribulation: the wrath that will fall on the earth at the end of time, (eschatological wrath)

— Sowing and reaping wrath: comes consequent for sin (whatever a man sows he reaps ( Gal 6:7 )

— Cataclysmic wrath: God sets upon the earth with natural order

— Eternal wrath: unleashed on the ungodly in eternal hell

— But the wrath referred to here in Romans 1 is none of these — it is the wrath of abandonment

The Bad news first

— We need to hear the bad news first

— If a doctor gave you a pill and instructed you to take it, you would not understand the urgency

— But, if a doctor first told you that you a terminal illness and that this pill would cure you, you would eagerly follow his advice

— In the same way, Scripture reveals the bad news before the good news

— A person has no reason to seek salvation from sin if he does not know he is condemned by it

The Quality of God’s Wrath ( 1:18a )

( 1:18a ) For the wrath of God

— This wrath is of God and unlike anything we know of in the present world

— Man’s anger is always tainted by sin

— God never loses His temper; His wrath is righteous

— We cannot measure God’s wrath by human standards or discount it because human anger is always tainted by sin

The Timing of God’s Wrath ( 1:18b )

( 18:b ) is revealed

— God’s wrath has always been revealed to fallen mankind and is repeatedly illustrated in Scripture

— To Adam and Eve, they were immediately sentenced to death as well as their descendants

— His wrath was revealed in the flood; He drowned the whole world but eight souls ( Gen 6-8 )

— It was revealed in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ( Gen 19 )

— The plagues upon Egypt and drowning of Pharaoh’s army ( Exod 6-12 )

— And the bowls of wrath ( Rev 16 )

— By far the surpassing revelation of God’s wrath was that placed on His own son at the cross

Boice

Each of these explanations of the present revelation of the wrath of God is quite accurate. But in my opinion Paul has something much more specific in view here, the matter that Charles Hodge alone mentions specifically: “the inherent tendency of moral evil to produce misery.” This is what Paul goes on to develop in Romans 1. In verses 21 through 32 Paul speaks of a downward inclination of the race by which the world, having rejected God and therefore being judicially abandoned by God, is given up to evil. It is set on a course that leads to perversions and ends in a debasement in which people call good evil and evil good. Human depravity and the misery involved are the revelation of God’s anger

The Source of God’s Wrath ( 1:18c )

( 18:c ) from heaven

— In each case Scripture shows that these manifestations of wrath have their origin in heaven

— Despite Satan being the prince of this world, it is ultimately dominated by heaven

Q: What is the difference between ungodliness and unrighteousness ( 1:18 )?

The Extent and Nature of God’s Wrath ( 1:18d )

( 18:d ) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

— God’s wrath is universal, being discharged against all who deserve it

— “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ( Rom 3:9, 23 )

Synonyms

ungodliness

— A faulty personal relationship with God

— A lack of reverence for, devotion to and worship of the true God

— This leads to some sort of false worship; worship but not biblical worship

unrighteousness

— This encompasses ungodliness but focuses on the result

— Ungodliness leads to unrighteousness

— Men treat other men the way that they do because they treat God the way they do

— Man’s enmity with his fellow man originates with his being at enmity with God

Q: How can God hold everyone responsible for moral and spiritual failure, and be so angry when some people have so much less opportunity than other for hearing the gospel and coming to know God? ( 1:18)

The Cause of God’s Wrath ( 1:18e )

( 18:e ) who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

— The answer is that, because of is sinful disposition, every person is naturally inclined to follow sin and resist God

— This phrase could be rendered, “who are constantly attempting to suppress the truth by steadfastly holding to their sin”

— The fool is constantly trying to convince himself that “there is no god” ( Ps 14:1; 53:1; Ps 73:11; Rom 2:15 )

— Unrighteousness is so much a part of man’s nature that every person has a built-in, natural, compelling desire to suppress and oppose God’s truth

D.G. Barnhouse

He speaks of Jews and of Gentiles; he speaks of those who are in the vilest forms of idol-worship and of those who are in the morass of natural religion. He deals with all, and in this verse, it seems to me, he deals first of all with those who pretend to hold a divine truth, but who truly suppress it by failing to surrender to it. There are men ‘having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof’ (2 Tim. 3:5). The believers are told to turn away from such. Do we not have here the chief objects of the wrath of God, namely, those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness? The British revisers translate the passage as “men who hold down the truth”; the American revisers have rendered it, “men who hinder the truth.”

— As Paul declares in the next verse

— “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” ( 1:19 )

— His point is that regardless of their relative opportunities to know God’s word, we all have internal, God-given evidence of His existence and nature

— But we are universally included to resist and assault that evidence

— No matter how little light we have, if we sincerely seek Him we will find Him ( Jer 29:13 )

— But we are not naturally inclined to seek God

— Even when face to face with God incarnate, “men loved darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” ( John 3:19-20 )

Reasons for the Wrath of God ( 1:19-21 )

( 1:19-21 ) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

— Some years ago, an article in the The Times of London reported that fourteen church study groups look at the OT Psalms and concluded that eighty-four of them were “not fit for Christians to sing”

— They reasoned that the wrath and vengeance reflected in those psalms was not compatible with the Christian gospel of love and grace

— Many in our own church, JOF, would agree with that statement

— Jesus was God incarnate and therefore love incarnate, but He spoke more about judgment and hell than anyone else in Scripture ( Matt 5:22, 29-30; 8:12; 10:14-15, 28; 12:36-37, vv 41-42, 13:40, 49; 16:26; 18:34-35; 22:13; 23:33; 24:50-51; 25:26-30)

— Paul declared that it is because of “the fear of the Lord [that] we persuade men” ( 2 Cor 5:11 )

God’s Holiness Demands it

— How could He who is infinitely holy disregard sin?

— How could He who loves righteousness not hate and act severely against all unrighteousness?

— How could He who is the sum of all that is good look with complacency on virtue and vice equally?

— Wrath is the only just response a perfectly holy God could make to unholy men

— Righteous wrath therefore is every bit as much an element of God’s divine perfection as any of HIs attributes, as Paul makes clear in Romans 9:22-23

— “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,” ( Ro 9:22-23 )

— Before we can understand the grace of God we must first understand His wrath

— Before we can understand the meaning of Christ’s death, we must first understand why man’s sin made that death necessary

— Before we can understand how loving, merciful and gracious God is we must first see how rebellious, sinful and guilty unbelieving mankind is

Q: Why is everyone born already under God’s wrath and condemnation ( 1:19-20 )?

God’s Revelation ( 1:19-20 )

( 1:19-20 ) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

— In verses 16, 17 Paul had been speaking about God’s revelation in the gospel unto salvation

— It is clear that here, in verses 19,20 he has made the transition from special to general revelation

— He is now speaking about the things that are made, that is, about God’s revelation in His works, meaning, in creation or nature

— God is justified because He has revealed Himself to all mankind

— Romans 1:18-2:26 pertains especially to the Gentiles who, unlike Israel, did not have his written revelation

The Gift of Revelation ( 1:19 )

( 1:19 ) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

— Even apart from His written revelation, His outward, visible manifestation of Himself is universally known by man

— The Philistines both saw and acknowledged God’s power ( 1 Sam 4-6 ), as did the Canaanites and the Egyptians

— Those who built the tower of Babel both saw and acknowledged God’s greatness, as did the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah

— It is not because we have no knowledge, but because we suppress God’s truth ( 1:8 )

No Defense

— God is perfectly just and therefore could not rightly condemn those who are totally ignorant of Him

— Paul asserts that no person can rightly claim ignorance of God, and therefore no person can rightly claim that God’s wrath against him is unjust

Tertullian

— A prominent early church Father, said that it was not the pen of Moses that initiated the knowledge of the Creator

— The vast majority have never heard of Moses, but they know the God of Moses

Helen Keller

— A disease left Helen Keller as a very young girl without sight, hearing and speech

— Anne Sullivan taught Helen how to communicate through touch and even learned how to talk

— When Miss Sullivan first tried to tell Helen about God, the girls’ response was that she already knew about Him — just didn’t know His name

A light in the World

— John speaks of Jesus as “the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” ( John 1:19 )

— He was not speaking of the saving knowledge of God, which comes only through faith, but of the intellectual knowledge of God, which comes to every human being through God’s self-manifestation in His creation

— Every person has a witness of God, and therefore every person is accountable to follow the opportunity to respond to Him in faith

Q: What two invisible attributes can all men witness ( 1:20 )?

The Content of Revelation ( 1:20 )

( 1:20 ) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Boice

— Every era has had it excuses for not seeking and worshipping God

— Our excuse is that we live in the “scientific age” and science has not proved the existence of God

— When the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin returned to earth from his short time in space, he said with typical atheistic arrogance, “I did not see God.”

God says that there is plenty of evidence

— The two things that man can witness with his senses are

— God’s eternal power

— His divine nature ( Godhead )

— The NLT renders this verse as such

“ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God”

— Even without special revelation, men could see that “the heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” ( Ps 19:1 )

Hendriksen

His invisible … clearly seen

— The rendering His invisible qualities… haven been clearly seen is expressed beautifully in the original Greek

— The Greek employs a pair of words, which, though resembling each other in form, express a seeming contradiction

— A closer approach to the original would be: “his unseeable qualities … are clearly seen”

Men’s Salvation

— If a person lives up to the light of the revelation he has, God will provide for his hearing of the gospel

— “As I live” declared the Lord through Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live” ( Ezek 33:11; cf. 2 Pet 3:9; Jer 29:13 )

— Because the Ethiopian was seeking God, the Holy Spirit sent Philip to witness to him (Acts 8:26-39 )

— Because Cornelius, a Gentile centurion in the Roman army, was “a devout man, and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually,” God sent Peter to him to explain the gospel ( Acts 10:2, 44, 48 )

— Because Lydia was a true worshipper of God, when she heard the gospel, “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul” ( Acts 16:14 )

Man’s Rejection ( 1:21 )

( 1:21 ) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened

— God is also justified in His wrath and judgement because of man’s willful rejection of Him

— “Man’s apostasy from God is not the act of an ignorant mind but the act of a determined will” (D.G. Barnhouse)

— We know of God’s existence and power but our natural tendency is to “proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” ( 2 Tim 3:13 )

— Paul reminds believers, “We also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another” ( Titus 3:3 )

— Paul gives four ways men reject God in this verse

By dishonoring Him

— First, man fails to honor God as God

— δοξάζω (doxazō). vb. to glorify, exalt, praise; to be/become exalted

— honor is better translated here as glory

— Above everything else God is to exalted, glorified

— That is, to recognize Him as supremely worthy of honor, and to acknowledge His divine attributes

— The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is the chief end of man?” Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God ( 1 Cor 10:31; Rev 4:11 ) and enjoy Him forever ( Ps 73:25-26 )

— We were created to glorify God ( Lev 10;3; 1 Chron 16:24-29; Ps 148; Rom 15:5-6 ) and to fail to give God glory is therefore the ultimate slap in the face

By being thankless to Him

— Second, because man in his pride fails to honor and glorify God, he also fails to give thanks to Him for his gracious provision

— God gives us rain and sun to both the just and the unjust ( Matt 5:45; Lk 6:35; Acts 14:15-17 )

— God’s blessings in abundance to man is clear, but man fails to thank God let alone acknowledge His existence ( Lk 17:11-19 )

By being futile in their speculations concerning Him

— Third, because men fail to honor and thank God, they have become futile in their thoughts

— thoughts encompasses all their godless reasonings

— To forsake God is exchange truth for falsehood, meaning for hopelessness and satisfaction for emptiness

By being darkened in their hearts about Him

— But an empty mind and soul is like a vacuum

— It will not remain empty for long, but pull in falsehood and darkness to replace the truth and light that it rejected

— The foolish heart that rejected God is not enlightened and free, as some claim, but spiritually darkened and further enslaved to sin

— Spiritual darkness and moral perversity are inseparable; when man forfeits God he opens the floodgate to moral decadence and perversity

Man’s Rationalization ( 1:22 )

( 1:22 ) Professing to be wise, they became fools,

— What a contrast between the claim and the reality

— Men rationalized their sin, must as fallen man still does today

— David said that men who deny God are fools ( Ps 14:1; 53:1 ), but they think that they are wise

— Even many well intentioned Christians think that they must accommodate evolution as scientific fact rather than philosophical theory; they accept the unfounded foolishness of unregenerate men above the flawless truth of God’s Word

Man’s Religion ( 1:23 )

( 1:23 ) and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

— Every person born is under God’s wrath because

— Men rejected God’s revelation

— Man willfully rejected God

— Man rationalized his sin

— The fourth reason why every person is born under God’s wrath and condemnation is man-made religion

— Fallen man is not naturally godly, but he is very religious

— Hindus have some 300 million gods or about 8 gods per family

— A two-inch long discolored tooth, claimed to have belonged to Buddha and to have been retrieved from his funeral pyre in 543 B.C., is venerated by millions of Buddhists

— The tooth is set in a golden lotus blossom surrounded by rubies and enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka

— Because something in man’s fallenness demands a god, but one that man likes better than the true God, men devise deities of their own making (cf. Isa 44:9-17 )

— It is not a coincidence that the first commandment is

— “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” ( Ex 20:3-5 )

— And yet at that very moment that the commandments were being given to Moses, the children of Israel were making a golden calf to worship ( Ex 32:1-6 )

— All idolatry is worship of self and service of Satan

— Paul declared, “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons” ( 1 Cor 10:20 )

A. W. Tozer

— A. W. Tozer wisely observed that idolatry begins in the mind when we pervert or exchange the idea of God for something other than what He really is ( The Knowledge of the Holy )

Charles Spurgeon

“If you love anything better than God you are idolaters: If there is anything you would not give up for God it is your idol: If there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol, and conversion means a turning from every idol”

Abandoned by God ( 1:24 - 32 )

( 1:24-32 ) Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

— As Paul will explain in these verses, man is not basically good but evil

— His nature is innately bent toward sin

— Men who try to go it alone and seek to improve themselves by their own power, commit the most heinous sin of all, which is self-righteousness and pride

— Only God can remove sin or produce righteousness, and the person who tries to produce his own righteousness merely drives himself deeper into sin and further from God

— When man is left to himself the bad always chokes out the good; we are not ascending to God but descending from God

— Man cannot stop the slide because he is innately a slave to sin ( Rom 6:16-20 )

— The major point of Romans 1:24-34 is that when men persistently abandon God, God will abandon them ( 1:24, 26, 28 ; cf. Ps 8:11-12; Hos 4:17 )

— What we see here is the sequence that happens when God abandons a nation:

— First, he gives them over to sexual sin ( 1:24 )

— First it becomes pornographic, obsessed with sex, fornication, adultery

— We have been through this already in the sexual revolution (1960-1980)

— Second, God gave them over to homosexuality ( 1:26 )

— They received the consequences that accompany homosexual behavior

— We witnessed the AIDS epidemic ( 1980-1990 )

— God says that when releases His wrath there will be a sexual revolution followed by a homosexual revolution

— Third, God gave them over to a mind that doesn’t function correctly ( 1:28 )

— Life becomes filled with envy, murder on a massive scale, greed

— They become haters of God

— We are living the sequence that is here

— These very things that God hates were affirmed by the Democratic party platform

— Open sex with government provided contraceptives

— Murder of God’s image bearers in the womb

— God left out of the platform

—Affirmation of LGBTQIA+ lifestyle (who vote overwhelmingly democratic)

— The Democratic party has made Romans 1 their agenda — what God condemns they affirm

— What God punishes they exalt

Boice

— Oscar Wilde said, “When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayer”

— Man wants to push God out of his life

— God answers those prayers, and so leaves man alone

— God has given man over to his rebellious ways — but in another sense He has not “given up” on man ( Hos 11:8-9)

— If God gave up on us we would be without hope

The Essence of Man’s Sinfulness ( 1:24-25 )

( 1:24-25 ) Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

— Therefore refers back to the reasons that Paul just covered in 1:18-23:

— God revealed Himself to man ( vv. 19-20 )

— Man rejected God ( v. 21 )

— Man rationalized his rejection of God ( v.22; cf. v. 18b )

— Man created substitute gods of his own making ( v. 23 )

— And because man abandoned God, God abandoned them — He gave them over

Hendricksen

— Note the close connection between idolatry (v 23 ) and immorality ( v 24)

— Similarly in the apocryphal book Wisd. of Solomon we read: “For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornications, and their invention was the corruption of life” ( 14:12 )

MacArthur

Gave … over παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)

— This is a very intense verb in the NT

— Used to describe giving one’s body to be burned ( 1 Cor 13:3 )

— Three times used of Christ giving Himself up to death ( Gal 2:20; Eph 5:2, 25 )

— It is used in the judicial sense of being committed to prison ( mark 1:14; Acts 8:3 ) or to judgment ( Matt 5:25; 10:17, 19, 21; 18:34 )

— And of rebellious angels being delivered to pits of darkness ( 2 Pet 2:4 )

— This is the wrath of God of abandonment — God gives society over to the consequences of their sin which is escalating inequity leading to judgment

Sproul

— The worst thing that can happen to sinners is to be allowed to go on sinning without any divine restraints

Revelation 22:11 NASB95

“Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”

— God removes the restraints, which theologians call “judicial abandonment”

Man times, it not most times, the sin we commit is a punishment for sin. When we sin, we are actually working out God’s punishment for our sin. We are not committing a new transgression ever time we sin; rather, the sinful impulses that we harbor, embrace, and experience in our actual transgressions are already the result of God’s judgment for our sin. That is what happens in judicial abandonment. God gives us over to our sinful impulses. We become slaves to the things that we want to do

Q: In what ways does God give them up ( 1:24-25 )?

— God’s giving over sinful mankind has a dual sense

First, indirect

— He withdrawing His restraining and protective hand

— He allows sin to take its inevitable destructive course

— The divine abandonment of men is not eternal; as long as sinful men are alive, God provides opportunity for salvation

— The church at Thyatira was the embodiment of idolatrous, immoral godlessness, yet the Lord graciously gave her an opportunity to repent ( Rev 2:20-21)

— God is patient towards sinners, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” ( 2 Pet 3:9 )

Second, direct

— God gave men over by specific acts of judgement

— The bible is full of examples of wrath being directly and supernaturally pouted out on sinful men

— The flood, Sodom and Gomorrah

— God often allows men to go into despair and show them their need for Him in order that He can heal them ( Is 19:22 )

Hendriksen

Exchanged truth for a lie

— This verse could be translated as

— … since they had indeed exchanged God, (who is) the truth, for a lie

— … the true God

— That God, the Creator, should be called “the truth” is not strange ( John 14:6; Ps 31:5; Is 65:16 )

— Neither is it strange that an idol, that an an object of worship should be called “a lie”

— Isa 44:20 describes a sculptor, who has made himself a “god”

— He reached out and takes hold of it, but fails to ask himself, “Is there not a lie in my right hand”

— The idol is “a lie” because it promises much; however, it provides nothing!

The Expression of Man’s Sinfulness ( 1:26-27 )

( 1:26-27 ) For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

— Paul declares that because man’s rejecting the true God for false religions, and worshipping the creature rather than the creator — God gave them up to vile passions

— Paul uses homosexuality as an example of the most degrading and repulsive of all passions

— Perversion is the illicit and twisted expression of that which is God given and natural

— Homosexuality, on the other hand is inversion, the expression of that which is neither God-given or natural

Charles Hodges

— Paul mentions women first

— “Paul first refers to the degradation of females among the heathen, because they are always the last to be affected in the decay of morals, and their corruption is therefore proof that all virtue is lost “

— God so abhors homosexuality that He determined that the disgraceful, shameful acts that women commit with women and men commit with men would result in their receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error

Hendriksen

— For more information on this wilful practice of homosexuality or sodomy see ( Gen 19:4-9; Lev 18:22; 20:13; Deut 23:17-18; Judg 19:22-24; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; II Kings 23:7; Isa 3:9; Lam 4:6; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 4:19; 1 Tim 1:10; II Peter 2:6; Jude 7 )

— The best of all remedies against reaping the fruits of corruption is the practice of the kind of life described beautifully in such passages as ( Rom 12:1; 1 Cor 13; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5 )

Douglas Moo

In many Jewish polemical works, the gross sexual immorality that the Jews found rampant among the Gentiles was traced directly to idolatry. Thus, to cite Wisdom of Solomon; “the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life (14:12). Paul follows this genre by making the same connection but differs from it by attributing the connection to the act of God. As in vv. 23-34, people’s “exchange” of the true God for idols ( v. 25 ) is the cause of God’s retributive “handing them over.” And that to which they are handed over, “dishonorable passions,” here corresponds to “uncleanness” of v. 24. Paul’s use of the word “passions” combined with what he says in vv. 26b-27, makes it clear that he refers to illicit sexual passions. In yet another similarity to Jewish criticisms of the Gentile world, the sexual sin that Paul singles out is homosexuality: “women exchanged the natural use of their bodies for that which is against nature.” The verb “exchange,” which has been used twice to depict the fall into idolatry (vv. 23, 25), is now used to characterize this tragic reversal in sexual practice. The “natural use” has been replaced with one this is “against nature.”

The danger of thinking Paul is using his culture to make a point

To cite a representative work, R. Scroggs in The new Testament and Homosexuality: Contextual Background for Contemporary debate (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), holds that Paul’s criticism of homosexuality cannot be taken too seriously. He sketches the attitude of the Greeks to homosexuality, which was generally positive. Pederasty [def: is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy], in particular, was widely practiced, accepted, and even honored in some circles. On the other hand, homosexual prostitution was generally condemned (pp. 17-65), In light of this background, Scroggs suggests that, while Paul opposes homosexuality in Romans 1, Paul gives no real rational, implying that he is simply following his Hellenistic Jewish model and that Paul himself is not “particularly upset” by the practice of homosexuality (pp. 109-18). Scroggs also thinks that Paul condemns only homosexual prostitution in 1 Cor 6:9 (pp.101-9).

The Extent of Man’s Sinfulness ( 1:28-32 )

( 1:28-32 ) And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

You don’t think that Idolatry is a big deal?

Douglas Moo

— In vv 22-24 and 25-27 Paul has shown how the sexual immorality that pervades humanity has its roots in the rejection of the true God in favor of gods of their own making

— In the third and final portrayal of this sin-retribution sequence ( vv. 28-32), he traces sins of humanity, of man’s hatred of his fellow man to this same root sin of idolatry

— God gave them over to a depraved mind

MacArthur

Depraved ἀδόκιμος (adokimos); not standing the test

— used of metals that were rejected because of impurities, worthless

— The rejecting mind becomes spiritually depraved, worthless and useless

— Paul gives us a long but not exhaustive list of vices which fill the mind of the natural man

Natural Revelation

Douglas Moo

— Paul wants to demonstrate every one’s responsibility for their sin and fallen nature

— He says some important things about what theologians call “natural revelation” — the knowledge of God that he has made available in the very creation and working of the world

— Yet, theologians have differing opinions on the significance of this revelation in nature

— Roman Catholic Theologians have traditionally been very open to the possibility of persons coming to know God through the evidence of nature and the conscience

— Barth has reacted vigorously. For Him all knowledge of God must come through Christ; Rom 1:19-21 speaks not of Gentiles knowing God through nature, but of Gentiles who, confronted with the gospel, have revealed the objective condition that has been their all along

— Both are wrong

— First, against Barth, Rom 1:19-21 teaches that true knowledge of God is available in nature and that people apart from God’s revelation in Christ come to know this truth about God

— It can be concluded, then, that the text teaches that all people have, by reason of God’s revelation in creation, access to some degree of knowledge about God (v19)

— But this knowledge is both limited and impure; it is confined to those basic attributes of God that may be discerned in nature (v.20) and is so mixed with false perceptions that is it almost immediately perverted

Second, It is vitally important, if this section and Paul’s passion for the gospel is to be understood, to see that the knowledge of God that people posses outside special revelation is woefully inadequate, of itself, to save

— Paul makes clear that, rather than being a help to people in their search for God, the evidence of nature and conscience ( cf. 2:14-16 ) serves only to render them “without excuse”

Additional Resources

MacArthur, John. Romans 1-8. Moody Press, 1991.

MacArthur, John. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-310/taking-the-mystery-out-of-knowing-gods-will

MacArthur, John. Homosexuality and the Campaign for Immorality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFJVANCzU5c&t=654s

William Hendriksen. Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.

Hodge, Charles. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Boice, James Montgomery. Romans. Vol 1 Justification by Faith, Romans 1-4. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991

Moo, Douglas J. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Moo, Douglas J. The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody, 1991.