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172 lines
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'all');">Rom 1</a> - The Human Race Guilty Before God</h2>
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<p>A. The importance and impact of Paul's Letter to the Romans.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. In the summer of 386, a young man wept in the backyard of a friend. He knew that his life of sin and rebellion against God was killing him, leaving him empty; but he just couldn't find the strength to make a final, real decision for Jesus Christ. As he sat, he heard some children playing a game and they called out to each other these words: "Take up and read! Take up and read!" Thinking God had a message to him through the words of the children, he picked up a scroll laying nearby opened it and began to read: <i>not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',13,'13-14');">Rom 13:13b-14</a>). He didn't read any further; he didn't have to. Through the power of God's word, Augustine had the faith to entrust his whole life to Jesus Christ at that moment.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. In August of 1513, a monk lectured on the book of Psalms in a seminary, but his inner life was nothing but turmoil. In his studies, he came across <a onclick="return mV('Psa',31,'all');">Psa 31:1</a>: <i>In Thy righteousness deliver me</i>. The passage confused him; how could God's <i>righteousness</i> do anything but condemn him to Hell as a righteous punishment for his sins? Luther kept thinking about <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,17);">Rom 1:17</a>, which says that in the gospel<i>, the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live"</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Hab',2,4);">Hab 2:4</a>). The monk went on to say: "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. Therefore I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise...This passage of Paul became to me a gateway into heaven." Martin Luther was born again, and the reformation began in his heart.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. In May of 1738, a failed minister and missionary went unwillingly to small Bible study where someone read aloud from Martin Luther's commentary on Romans. As the failed missionary said later: "while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken <i>my</i> sins away, even <i>mine.</i>" John Wesley was saved that night in London.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. Consider the testimony of these men regarding Romans:</p>
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<p class="c4">a. Martin Luther praised the Book of Romans: "It is the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel...the absolute epitome of the gospel."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. Philip Melancthon called Romans, "The compendium of Christian doctrine."</p>
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<p class="c4">c. John Calvin said of Romans, "When any one understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture."</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Samuel Coleridge, English poet and literary critic said Paul's letter to the Romans is "The most profound work in existence."</p>
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<p class="c4">e. Frederick Godet, 19th Century Swiss theologian called the Book of Romans "The cathedral of the Christian faith."</p>
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<p class="c4">f. G. Campbell Morgan said Romans was "The most pessimistic page of literature upon which your eyes ever rested" and at the same time, "the most optimistic poem to which your ears ever listened."</p>
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<p class="c4">g. Richard Lenski wrote Romans is "Beyond question the most dynamic of all New Testament letters even as it was written at the climax of Paul's apostolic career."</p>
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<p class="c1">5. We should also remember the Apostle Peter's words about Paul's letters: <i>Also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles...in which are some things hard to understand.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',3,'15-16');">2Pe 3:15-16</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">a. The Book of Romans has life changing truth but it must be approached with effort and determination to understand what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul.</p>
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<p>B. Introduction.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,1);">1</a>) Paul introduces himself to the Romans.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called <i>to be </i>an apostle, separated to the gospel of God</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Paul</span></b>: The life and ministry of Paul (also known as Saul of Tarsus) is well documented in Acts chapters <a onclick="return mV('Act',8,'all');">8</a> through <a onclick="return mV('Act',28,'all');">28</a>, as well as <a onclick="return mV('Gal',1,'all');">Gal 1</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Gal',2,'all');">2</a>, and <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,'all');">2Cr 11</a> and <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',12,'all');">12</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is almost universally agreed that Paul wrote Romans from the city of Corinth as he wintered there on his third missionary journey as described in <a onclick="return mV('Act',20,'2-3');">Act 20:2-3</a>. This is based on <a onclick="return mV('Rom',16,1);">Rom 16:1</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Rom',16,23);">16:23</a> along with <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',1,14);">1Cr 1:14</a>. A variety of commentators pick the date of writing anywhere from 53 to 58 <span class="c6">a.d.</span></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. By the time Paul wrote Romans, he had been a Christian preacher for some 20 years. In Corinth, on his way to Jerusalem, he had three months without any pressing duties. He perhaps thought this was a good time to write ahead to Rome, a church he planned to visit after Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. As Paul endeavored to go to Rome, the Holy Spirit warned him about the peril awaiting him in Jerusalem (<a onclick="return mV('Act',21,'10-14');">Act 21:10-14</a>). What if he were unable to make it to Rome? Then he must write them a letter so comprehensive that the Christians in Rome had the gospel Paul preached, even if Paul himself were not able to visit them.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Because of all this, Romans is different than other letters Paul wrote to New Testament churches. Other New Testament letters focus more on the church and its challenges and problems. The letter to the Romans focuses more on God and His great plan of redemption.</p>
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<p class="c5">v. We know the letter to the Romans was prized by the Christians in Rome; Clement of Rome's letter in 96 <span class="c6">a.d.</span> shows great familiarity with Paul's letter. It may be that he had memorized it, and that the reading of it became a part of virtually every meeting of the Roman church. As well, many scholars (Bruce and Barclay among them) believe that an edited version of Romans - without the personal references in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',16,'all');">Rom 16</a> - was distributed widely among early churches, as a summary of apostolic doctrine.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">A bondservant...an apostle</span></b>: Paul's self-identification is important. He is <i>first</i> a <b><span class="c3">servant of Jesus Christ</span></b>, and <i>second</i> <b><span class="c3">called to be an apostle</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There were several Greek words used to designate a slave, but the idea behind the word for <b><span class="c3">servant</span></b> (<i>doulos</i>) is "complete and utter devotion, not the abjectness which was the normal condition of the slave." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "<i>A servant of Jesus Christ,</i> is a higher title than monarch of the world." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Separated to the gospel of God</span></b>: The idea of being an <b><span class="c3">apostle</span></b> is that you are a special ambassador or messenger. Paul's message is <b><span class="c3">the gospel</span></b> (good news) <b><span class="c3">of God</span></b>. It is <b><span class="c3">t</span></b><b><span class="c3">he gospel of God</span></b> in the sense that it belongs to God in heaven. This isn't a gospel Paul made up; he simply is a <i>messenger</i> of God's gospel.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Separated unto the gospel</span></b>: "St. Paul may here refer to his former state as a <i>Pharisee</i>, which literally signifies a <i>separatist</i>, or one <i>separated</i>. <i>Before</i> he was separated unto the service of his own <i>sect</i>; <i>now</i> he is separated unto the Gospel of God." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Some think he alludes to the name of Pharisee, which is from separating: when he was a Pharisee, he was separated to the law of God; and now, being a Christian, he was separated to the gospel of God." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">The gospel of God</span></b>: Other New Testament letters focus more on the church and its challenges and problems; Romans focuses more on <b><span class="c3">God</span></b>. "<i>God</i> is the most important word in this epistle. Romans is a book about God. No topic is treated with anything like the frequency of God. Everything Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness, justification, and the like we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. The word "</span><b><span class="c3">God</span></b>"<span> occurs 153 times in the book; an average of once every 46 words - this is more frequently than in any other New Testament book. In comparison, note the frequency of other words used in Romans: <i>law</i> (72), <i>Christ</i> (65), <i>sin</i> (48), <i>Lord</i> (43), and <i>faith</i> (40). Romans deals with many different themes, but as much as a book can be, it is a book about <i>God</i>. </span></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. There are many important words in the vocabulary of Romans we must understand; Bruce quotes Tyndale's preface to Romans: "First we must mark diligently the manner of speaking of the apostle, and above all things know what Paul meaneth by these words - <i>the Law, Sin, Grace, Faith, Righteousness, Flesh, Spirit, </i>and such like - or else, read thou it ever so often, thou shall but lose thy labor."</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'2-6');">2-6</a>) Paul introduces his gospel to the Romans.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, <i>and </i>declared <i>to be </i>the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">He promised before through His prophets</span></b>: This gospel is not something new, and it is not a clever invention of man. Paul's world was much like ours, with people liked "new" teachings and doctrines. Nevertheless, Paul didn't bring something new, but something very old in the plan of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Concerning </span></b><b><span class="c3">His Son Jesus Christ our Lord</span></b>: This is the center of Paul's gospel, the "sun" that everything this else orbits around. The center of Christianity is not a teaching or a moral system, it is a Person: <b><span class="c3">Jesus Christ</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This Jesus has both a human origin (<b><span class="c3">born of the seed of David according to the flesh</span></b>), and an eternal existence (<b><span class="c3">declared to be the Son of God</span></b>). The evidence of Jesus' humanity is His human birth; the evidence of His deity is His <b><span class="c3">resurrection from the dead</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The resurrection of Jesus shows His divine power because He rose by His own power: <i>Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',2,19);">Jhn 2:19</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "There is a sense in which Jesus was the Son of God in weakness before the resurrection but the Son of God in power thereafter." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Declared</span></b>: This ancient Greek word (<i>horizo</i>) comes from the idea "to <i>bound</i>, <i>define</i>, <i>determine</i>, or <i>limit</i>, and hence our word <i>horizon</i>, the <i>line</i> that <i>determines</i> the farthest visible part of the earth in reference to the heavens. In this place the word signifies such a <i>manifest</i> and <i>complete exhibition</i> of the subject as to render it <i>indubitable</i>." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Jesus Christ our Lord</span></b>: It <i>means</i> something that the Apostle Paul called Jesus <b><span class="c3">Lord</span></b>: "This term could be no more than a polite form of address like our 'Sir.' But it could also be used of the deity one worships. The really significant background, though, is its use in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to render the divine name, Yahweh...Christians who used this as their Bible would be familiar with the term as equivalent to deity." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith</span></b>: Paul's gospel impacts individual lives. It isn't interesting theory or philosophy, it is life-changing good news.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The gospel gave Paul and the church <b><span class="c3">grace and apostleship</span></b>, and one reason those two gifts were given was to produce <b><span class="c3">obedience to the faith</span></b>. "Without the <span class="c6">grace</span>, <i>favour</i>, and peculiar help of God, he could not have been an apostle." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The gospel is big enough and great enough for the whole world; it must go out to impact <b><span class="c3">all nations</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. The gospel had reached the Roman Christians, demonstrating that they <b><span class="c3">are the called of Jesus Christ</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'7-15');">7-15</a>) Paul's desire to come to Rome.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called <i>to be </i>saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 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, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 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. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, <i>I am </i>ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">To all who are in Rome</span></b>: Paul had never been to Rome, and did not found the Roman church. This makes the Book of Romans different because most of Paul's letters were to churches he founded. It seems the church in Rome began somewhat spontaneously as Christians came to the great city of the Empire and settled there. There is no Biblical or historical evidence that the Apostle Peter founded the church in Rome.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Act',2,10);">Act 2:10</a> describes how there were people from Rome among the Jews present at the Day of Pentecostal, so when they returned home that was a start. Beyond that, the origins of the church in Rome are somewhat obscure, but Christians continually migrated to Rome from all parts of the empire. It shouldn't surprise us that a church started there spontaneously, without the direct planting by an apostle.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Even so, through mutual acquaintances or through his travels, Paul knew many of the Christians in Rome by name because he mentions them in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',16,'all');">Rom 16</a>. Even if Paul only knew many of the Roman Christian by acquaintance, he knew two things about them and every true Christian. He knew they were <b><span class="c3">beloved of God</span></b> and that they were <b><span class="c3">saints</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>iii. <b><span class="c3">Called to be saints</span></b></span>: <span>"You notice that the words 'to be' are put in by the translators; but though they are supplied, they are not really necessary to the sense. These believers in Rome were 'called saints.' They were not called because they were saints; but they became saints through that calling." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Lenski says <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'8-15');">Rom 1:8-15</a> has the feel of "small talk" among those trying to get to know one another.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Grace to you and peace from God</span></b>: Paul formally addresses his readers with his familiar greeting, combining the Greek greeting of <b><span class="c3">grace</span></b> with the Jewish greeting of <b><span class="c3">peace</span></b>. This <b><span class="c3">grace and peace</span></b> is not the kind wish of a man; they are <i>gifts</i>, coming <b><span class="c3">from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world</span></b>: Paul was thankful for the good reputation of the church in Rome. Because of its location, this church had a special visibility and opportunity to glorify Jesus throughout the empire.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. These Christians had to be strong. "The Christians of Rome were unpopular - reputed to be 'enemies of the human race' and credited with such vices as incest and cannibalism. In large numbers, then, they became the victims of the imperial malevolence - and it is this persecution of Christians under Nero that traditionally forms the setting for Paul's martyrdom." (Bruce)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The Romanists urge this place to prove Rome the mother church; but without reason: the church of Thessalonica had as high a eulogy: see <a onclick="return mV('1Th',1,8);">1Th 1:8</a>." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers</span></b>: Paul wanted the Roman Christians to know he was praying for them, and praying for an opportunity to visit them (<b><span class="c3">I may find a way in the will of God to come to you</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. "No wonder that they prospered so well when Paul always made mention of them in his prayers. Some churches would prosper better if some of you remembered them more in prayer." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">For God is my witness</span></b> is perhaps Paul's acknowledgment of how easy it is to <i>say</i> you will pray for someone, and then fail to do it. He wanted them to <i>know</i> that he was really praying.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">I may impart to you...that I may be encouraged</span></b><span>:</span> Paul's desire to visit the church in Rome is not merely to <i>give</i> to them, but to <i>receive</i> as well, because Paul realized that in their <b><span class="c3">mutual faith</span></b>, they have something to give to him.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now)</span></b><span>:</span> For a long time, Paul wanted to visit Rome and was only hindered by external circumstances. Perhaps some enemies of Paul implied he was <i>afraid</i> to go to Rome and preach the gospel in the "major leagues," in the Empire's leading city.</p>
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<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise</span></b><span>: </span>Paul recognized he had something of a debt to Rome. The Roman Empire brought world peace and order, they brought a common cultural, and an excellent transportation system to the world. Paul used all these in spreading the gospel, so he can best repay this debt by giving Rome the good news of Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul was such a tireless evangelist, working all over the world because he believed he had a debt to pay, and he owed it to the whole world.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. <b><span class="c3">I am ready</span></b>: Spurgeon wonders if Paul didn't use the words "<b><span class="c3">I am ready</span></b>" as his motto. Almost the first words out of his mouth when he was saved were, <i>"Lord, what do you want me to do?"</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Act',9,6);">Act 9:6</a>)</p><ul class="c6"><li>Paul was ready to preach and to serve (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,15);">Rom 1:15</a>)</li><li>Paul was ready to suffer (<a onclick="return mV('Act',21,13);">Act 21:13</a>)</li><li>Paul was ready to do unpleasant work (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',10,6);">2Cr 10:6</a>)</li><li>Paul was ready to die (<a onclick="return mV('2Ti',4,6);">2Ti 4:6</a>)</li></ul>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. "A Moravian was about to be sent by Zinzendorf to preach in Greenland. He had never heard of it before; but his leader called him, and said, 'Brother, will you go to Greenland?' He answered, 'Yes, sir.' 'When will you go?' 'When my boots come home from the cobbler;' and he did go as soon as his boots came home. He wanted nothing else but just that pair of boots, and he was ready to go. Paul, not even waiting for his boots to come home from the cobbler, says, 'I am ready.' Oh, it is grand to find a man so little entangled that he can go where God would have him go, and can go at once." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">i. <b><span class="c3">I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also</span></b><span>: This </span>is a bold way of talking. "Talk of your brave men, your great men, O world! Where in all history can you find one like Paul? Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, marched with the protection of their armies to enforce their will upon men. Paul was eager to march with Christ alone to the center of this world's greatness entrenched under Satan with <i>the word of the cross</i>, which he himself says is <i>to the Jews, and offence; and to Gentiles, foolishness.</i>" (Newell)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Ironically - in the mystery of God's irony, when Paul did eventually get to Rome, he came as a shipwrecked prisoner.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "<span>I do not suppose that Paul guessed that he would be sent there at the government expense, but he was. The Roman Empire had to find a ship for him, and a fit escort for him, too; and he entered the city as an ambassador in bonds. When our hearts are set on a thing, and we pray for it, God may grant us the blessing; but, it may be, in a way that we never looked for. You shall go to Rome, Paul; but you shall go in chains." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'16-17');">16-17</a>) Paul introduces the theme of his letter: the righteousness of God, as revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. After his introduction, Paul introduces his "thesis statement" for his letter to the Romans. Leon Morris says of <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,16);">Rom 1:16</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,17);">17</a>: "These two verses have an importance out of all proportion to their length."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I am not ashamed of the gospel</span></b> reveals Paul's heart. In a sophisticated city like Rome, some might be embarrassed by a gospel centered on a crucified Jewish savior, embraced by the lowest classes of people - but Paul is not <b><span class="c3">ashamed</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">For it </span></b><b><span class="c3">is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes</span></b>: This is <i>why</i> Paul is not ashamed of a gospel centered on a crucified savior. He knows that the gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ - has <i>inherent</i> <b><span class="c3">power</span></b>. We do not <i>give</i> it power, we only stop <i>hindering</i> the power of the gospel when we present it effectively.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The gospel is certainly <i>news</i>, but it is more than information; it has an inherent power. "The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that they lift themselves. It is power. It lifts them up. Paul does not say that the gospel brings power, but that it <i>is</i> power, and God's power at that." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. In particular, Rome thought it knew all about <b><span class="c3">power</span></b>: "Power is the one thing that Rome boasted of the most. Greece might have its philosophy, but Rome had its power." (Wiersbe). Despite all their power, the Romans - like all men - were powerless to make themselves righteous before God. The ancient philosopher Seneca called Rome "a cesspool of iniquity" and the ancient writer Juvenal called it a "filthy sewer into which the dregs of the empire flood."</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">For salvation</span></b>: <span>In the Roman world of Paul's day, men looked for <b><span class="c3">salvation</span></b>. Philosophers knew that man was sick and needed help. Epictetus called his lecture room "the hospital for the sick soul." Epicurus called his teaching "the medicine of salvation." Seneca said that because men were so conscious of "their weakness and their inefficiency in necessary things" that all men were looking "towards salvation." Epictetus said that men were looking for a peace "not of Caesar's proclamation, but of God's." (Cited in Barclay)</span></p>
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<p class="c5">iv. The gospel's power to salvation comes to <b><span class="c3">everyone who believes</span></b>. God will not withhold salvation from the one <b><span class="c3">who believes</span></b>; but <i>believing</i> is the only requirement.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. The message of the gospel came <b><span class="c3">for the Jew first and also for the Greek</span></b> (the non-Jew). This was demonstrated both by the ministry of Jesus (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',15,24);">Mat 15:24</a>) and the initial ministry of the disciples (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',10,'5-6');">Mat 10:5-6</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This means that the gospel was meant to go first to the <i>ethnic and cultural</i> <b><span class="c3">Jew</span></b>, and then to the <i>cultural</i> Greek. "At this time the word Greek had lost its racial sense altogether. It did not mean a native of the country of Greece...(a Greek) was one who knew the culture and the mind of Greece." (Barclay)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">For in it the righteousness of God is revealed</span></b><span>: Simply, t</span>he gospel <b><span class="c3">reveals</span></b> the <b><span class="c3">righteousness of God</span></b>. This revelation of God's righteousness comes to those with <b><span class="c3">faith</span></b>, fulfilling <a onclick="return mV('Hab',2,4);">Hab 2:4</a>: <b><span class="c3">The just</span></b> - that is, the justified ones - <b><span class="c3">shall live by faith</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is essential to understand exactly what the <b><span class="c3">righteousness of God</span></b> revealed by the gospel is. It is not speaking of the holy righteousness of God that <i>condemns</i> the guilty sinner, but of the God-kind of <b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b> that is <i>given to</i> the sinner who puts their trust in Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Righteousness</span></b>: William Barclay explains the meaning of this ancient Greek word <i>dikaioo,</i> which means<i> I justify</i>, and is the root of <i>dikaioun</i> (<b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b>): "All verbs in Greek which end in <i>oo</i>...always mean to <i>treat</i>, or <i>account</i> or <i>reckon</i> a person as something. If God justifies a sinner, it does not mean that he finds reasons to prove that he was right - far from it. It does not even mean, at this point, that he makes the sinner a good man. It means that <i>God treats the sinner as if he had not been a sinner at all."</i></p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "It was the happiest day in Luther's life when he discovered that 'God's Righteousness' as used in Romans means <i>God's verdict of righteousness upon the believer.</i>" (Lenski)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. This declaration is even greater when we understand that this is the <b><span class="c3">righteousness of God</span></b> given to the believer. It is not the righteousness of even them most holy mere man, nor is it the righteousness of innocent Adam in Eden. It is God's righteousness. "The righteousness which is unto justification is one characterized by the perfection belonging to all that God is and does. It is a 'God-righteousness'." (Murray)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. This faith (trust) in Jesus Christ becomes the basis of life for those who are justified (declared righteous); truly, <b><span class="c3">the just shall live by faith</span></b>. They are not only <i>saved</i> by faith, but they <b><span class="c3">live by faith</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">From faith to faith</span></b>: The idea behind this difficult phrase is probably "by faith from beginning to end." The NIV translates the phrase <b><span class="c3">from faith to faith</span></b> as <i>by faith from first to last.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">i. "He saith not, from faith to works, or from works to faith; but <i>from faith to faith</i>, i.e. only by faith." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Perhaps what it conveys is the necessity of issuing a reminder to the believer that justifying faith is only the beginning of the Christians life. The same attitude must govern him in his continuing experience as a child of God." (Harrison) This is an "echo" of Paul's message in <a onclick="return mV('Gal',3,'1-3');">Gal 3:1-3</a>.</p>
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<p>C. Why man must be justified by faith: the guilt of the human race in general.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,18);">18a</a>) The greatest peril facing the human race: the wrath of God.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven</span></b>: The idea is simple but sobering - God's wrath is revealed from heaven against the human race, and the human race <i>deserves</i> the wrath of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. We sometimes object to the idea of the <b><span class="c3">wrath of God</span></b> because we equate it with human anger, which is motivated by selfish personal reasons or by a desire for revenge. We must not forget that <b><span class="c3">the wrath of God</span></b> is completely <i>righteous</i> in character.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "It is unnecessary, and it weakens the biblical concept of the wrath of God, to deprive it of its emotional and affective character...to construe God's wrath as simply in his purpose to punish sin or to secure the connection between sin and misery is to equate wrath with its effects and virtually eliminate wrath as a movement within the mind of God. Wrath is the holy revulsion of God's being against that which is the contradiction of his holiness." (Murrary)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. In <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,16);">Rom 1:16</a>, Paul spoke of <i>salvation</i> - but what are we saved <i>from</i>? First and foremost, we are saved from <b><span class="c3">the wrath of God</span></b> that we righteously deserve.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Unless there is something to be saved from, there is no point in talking about salvation." (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. In this portion of the letter (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,18);">Rom 1:18</a> — <a onclick="return mV('Rom',3,20);">3:20</a>), Paul's goal is not to <i>proclaim</i> the good news, but to demonstrate the <i>absolute necessity</i> of the good news of salvation from God's righteous wrath.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The <b><span class="c3">wrath of God</span></b> is not revealed in the gospel, but in the facts of human experience.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'18-23');">18b-23</a>) Why the human race is guilty before God: demonstrations of our <b><span class="c3">ungodliness and unrighteousness</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,</span> w<span>ho suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown <i>it </i>to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible <i>attributes </i>are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, <i>even </i>His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify <i>Him </i>as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Ungodliness</span></b> refers to man's offenses against God; <b><span class="c3">unrighteousness</span></b> to the sins of man against man.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness</span></b>: Mankind does in fact <b><span class="c3">suppress the truth</span></b> of God. Every truth revealed to man by God has been fought against, disregarded, and deliberately obscured.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">His invisible attributes are clearly seen</span></b>: God has shown us something of His <b><span class="c3">eternal power and</span></b> divine nature through <b><span class="c3">creation, by the things that are made</span></b>. He has given a <i>general revelation</i> that is obvious both in creation and within the mind and heart of man.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Clearly seen</span></b>: The universal character of this revelation and the clarity of it leave man <b><span class="c3">without excuse</span></b> for rejecting it. "Men cannot charge God with hiding himself from them and thus excuse their irreligion and their immorality." (Lenski)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God</span></b>: The problem is not that man did not know God, but that he <i>did</i> know Him - yet we refused to <b><span class="c3">glorify Him as God</span></b>. Therefore, mankind is <b><span class="c3">without excuse</span></b>. We didn't glorify God; we transformed our conception of Him into forms and images more comfortable to our corrupt and darkened hearts.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Will you kindly notice, that, according to my text, <i>knowledge is of no use if it does not lead to holy practice</i>? "They knew God." It was no good to them to know God, for "they glorified him not as God." So my theological friend over there, who knows so much that he can split hairs over doctrines, it does not matter what you think, or what you know, unless it leads you to glorify God, and to be thankful." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We can't seem to resist the temptation to create God into his own corrupt image, or even in an image beneath us. One great tragedy in this is that we inescapably become like the God we serve.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. It is absolutely essential that we constantly compare our own conception of God against the reality of who God is as revealed in His Word. We can also be guilty of worshipping a self-made God.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. <b><span class="c3">Image</span></b> in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,23);">Rom 1:23</a> is the ancient Greek word <i>eikon</i>. It is a dangerous thing to change the <b><span class="c3">glory of the incorruptible God into an </span></b><i>eikon</i> (<b><span class="c3">image</span></b>) of your own choosing.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Nor were thankful</span></b>: Man's simple <i>ingratitude</i> against God is shocking. "<span>I cannot say anything much worse of a man than that he is not thankful to those who have been his benefactors; and when you say that he is not thankful to God, you have said about the worst thing you can say of him." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. "But when you glorify God as God, and are thankful for everything - when you can take up a bit of bread and a cup of cold water, and say with the poor Puritan, 'What, all this, and Christ too?' - then are you happy, and you make others happy. A godly preacher, finding that all that there was for dinner was a potato and a herring, thanked God that he had ransacked sea and land to find food for his children. Such a sweet spirit breeds love to everybody, and makes a man go through the world cheerfully." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Professing to be wise, they became fools</span></b><span>: Our</span> rejection of God's general revelation has not made us smarter or better. Instead, it makes mankind <b><span class="c3">futile in their thoughts</span></b>, and makes our <b><span class="c3">foolish hearts darkened</span></b> - and we become <b><span class="c3">fools</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The fact is once a man rejects the truth of God in Jesus, he will fall for anything foolish, and trust far more feeble and fanciful systems that what he rejects from God.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. This futility of thinking, darkening of the heart, and folly must be seen as one example of God's righteous<i> wrath</i> against those who have rejected His revelation. Part of His judgment against us is allowing us to suffer the damage our sinful course leads to.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'24-32');">24-32</a>) The tragic result of human guilt before God.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 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. And even as they did not like to retain God in <i>their </i>knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; <i>they are </i>whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 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.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Therefore God also gave them up</span></b>: In His righteous wrath and judgment, God gives man up to the sin our evil hearts desire, allowing us to experience the self-destructive result of sin. This phrase is so important Paul repeats it three times in this passage.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Hsa',4,17);">Hsa 4:17</a> expresses the judgmental aspects of God "giving us up," leaving us to our own sin: <i>Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We err when we think that it is God's <i>mercy</i> or <i>kindness</i> that allows man to continue in sin. It is actually His <i>wrath</i> that allows us to go on destroying ourselves with sin.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie</span></b>: In every rebellion and disobedience against God we exchange <b><span class="c3">the truth of God for the lie</span></b> of our own choosing, and set the <b><span class="c3">creature</span></b> before the <b><span class="c3">Creator</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul uses the definite article; it is not <i>a lie</i>, but <b><i><span class="c3">the</span></i><span class="c3"> lie</span></b>. <b><span class="c3">The lie</span></b> is essentially idolatry - which puts us in the place of God; it is the lie <i>you will be like God.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',3,5);">Gen 3:5</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">For this reason God gave them up to vile passions</span></b><span>: </span>Paul wrote this letter from the city of Corinth, were every sort of sexual immorality and ritualistic prostitution was practiced freely. The terminology of <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,24);">Rom 1:24</a> refers to this combination of sexual immorality and idolatrous worship.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This begins a passage where Paul describes the sin and corruption of the pagan world with an amazing directness - so direct that Spurgeon thought this passage unfit for public reading. "<span>This </span><span>first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans is a dreadful portion of the Word of God. I should hardly like to read it all through aloud; it is not intended to be so used. Read it at home, and be startled at the awful vices of the Gentile world." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">d. Paul uses homosexuality - both female and male - as an example of God giving <b><span class="c3">them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some say that the Bible nowhere condemns lesbian homosexuality, but the <b><span class="c3">likewise</span></b> of <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,27);">Rom 1:27</a> makes it clear that the sin of homosexuality condemned in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,27);">Rom 1:27</a> is connected to the sin of women mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,26);">Rom 1:26</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Paul doesn't even use the normal words for <b><span class="c3">men</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">women</span></b> here; he uses the words for <i>male</i> and <i>female</i>, using categories that describe sexuality outside of human terms, because the type of sexual sin he describes is outside of human dignity.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Paul categorizes the whole section under the idea of <b><span class="c3">vile passions</span></b> - unhealthy, unholy. Nevertheless, Paul lived in a culture that openly approved of homosexuality. Paul didn't write this to a culture that agreed with him.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Paul wrote to a culture where homosexuality was accepted as a part of life for both men and women. For some 200 years, men who openly practiced homosexuality, often with young boys, ruled the Roman Empire.</p>
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<p class="c5">v. At times, the Roman Empire specifically taxed approved homosexual prostitution and gave boy prostitutes a legal holiday. Legal marriage between same gender couples was recognized, and even some of the emperors married other men. At the very time Paul was writing, Nero was emperor. He took a boy named Sporus and had him castrated, then married him (with a full ceremony), brought him to the palace with a great procession, and made the boy his "wife." Later, Nero lived with another man, and Nero was the "wife."</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. Homosexual practice truly is an abomination in our present culture. Statistics tell us that on average 43% of homosexuals say that they have had 500 or more sexual partners in their lifetime, and only 1% of homosexuals say they have had four or less sexual partners in their lifetime.</p>
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<p class="c5">vii. According the Unites States Department of Health and Human Services, 77% of homosexuals say they have met sexual partners in a city park; 62% in a homosexual bar, 61% in a theater, 31% in a public restroom. Only 28% of homosexuals said that they had known their partners for at least a week before participating in homosexual sex.</p>
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<p class="c5">viii. Homosexuals often seem to specialize in anonymous sex with no emotional commitment. At one time, London AIDS clinics defined a woman as promiscuous if she had more than six partners in her lifetime. They gave up trying to apply a workable definition to male homosexuals when it became clear that they saw almost no homosexual men who had less than six sexual partners a year.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due</span></b>: Paul speaks of a <b><span class="c3">penalty</span></b> for homosexual conduct; Homosexuality has within itself a penalty. This speaks of the self-destructive nature of sin; it often carries within itself it's own penalty.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Sometimes it is the penalty of disease, which is the consequence of violating nature's order.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Sometimes it is the penalty of rebellion, resulting in spiritual emptiness and all it's ramifications. The term "gay" is wishful thinking; it sends a message that there is something essentially happy and carefree about the homosexual lifestyle - which there is not.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. Again, this "freedom" to disobey should be seen as God's <i>judgment</i>, not His kindness; those who engage in such acts are <b><span class="c3">receiving in themselves the penalty of their error</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">g. As further judgment, God gives man <b><span class="c3">over to a debased mind</span></b>, so that things that are disgraceful and sickening are readily accepted and approved.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The word <b><span class="c3">debased</span></b> (or, <i>reprobate</i> in the KJV) meant originally 'that which has not stood the test'. It was used of coins that were substandard and therefore rejected. The idea is that since man did not "approve" to know God, men came to have an "unapproved" mind.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The human race put God to the test for the purpose of approving Him should He meet the specifications which it laid down for a God who would be to its liking, and finding that He did not meet those specifications, it refused to approve Him as the God to be worshipped, or have Him in its knowledge." (Wuest)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">A debased mind</span></b>: Our rebellion against God is not only displayed in our <i>actions</i>, but in our <i>thinking</i>. We are genuinely "spiritually insane" in our rebellion against God.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. The list in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'29-31');">Rom 1:29-31</a> gives concrete examples of the kind of <b><span class="c3">things which are not fitting</span></b>. Notice how "socially acceptable" sins (such as <b><span class="c3">covetousness</span></b>, <b><span class="c3">envy</span></b> and pride) are included right along with "socially unacceptable" sins (such as murder and being unloving).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Covetousness</span></b> is literally <i>the itch for more</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Whisperers</span></b>: "Secret detractors; those who, under pretended secrecy, carry about accusations against their neighbours, whether true or false; blasting their reputation by clandestine tittle-tattle." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Is <b><span class="c3">envy</span></b> a small sin? Envy put Jesus on the cross. Pilate<i> knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. </i>(<a onclick="return mV('Mat',27,18);">Mat 27:18</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. <b><span class="c3">Proud</span></b>: "They who are continually exalting themselves and depressing others; magnifying themselves at the expense of their neighbours; and wishing all men to receive their <i>sayings</i> as oracles." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">i. Those who either <b><span class="c3">practice</span></b> or <b><span class="c3">approve</span></b> of these things are <b><span class="c3">worthy of death</span></b>; they are the worth objects of the wrath of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">j. Where does all this violence, immorality, cruelty and degradation come from? Men have abandoned the true knowledge of God, and the state of society is a reflection of God's judgment upon them for this.</p>
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