Romans - 1

     "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus  our Lord," 2 Peter 1:2-3 offers, "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."
     A common error in the religious world today is the belief that the Bible does not provide us with everything we need.  So hundreds and thousands of humans meet together and pool their ignorance in an attempt to take care of what they feel are deficiencies in what the Bible has revealed.  By doing this, they say, they will be able to arrive at compromises and achieve unity between the various denominations.
     What actually happens is that more division is created and we wind up with additional religious bodies.  Unity is not found in compromise.  Unity is found in following only what the Bible teaches.
     One of the New Testament books that provides a good overview of christian doctrine is Paul's letter to the Romans.  So, Lord willing, we would like to devote the next few weeks to a discussion of this book.
     To benefit fully from these studies you will want to have your Bible open to the book of Romans.  We will be making reference to a large number of passages that we will not have time to read, so you may want to write for free written copies of the broadcasts.
     The first verses of the book of Romans tell us that it was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome.  Acts 2:10 reveals that people from Rome were present when the church was established in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.  Acts 18:2 introduces us to two people who were members of that congregation, and Acts 28:16-31 records Paul's first visit there.
     This congregation contained both Jewish and Gentile converts, as we note from Romans 1:13, 2:17 and 11:13 and Acts 28:21.
     Paul explains his reason for writing in Romans 1:8-15.  The theme of the letter is contained in verses 16-17 of the same chapter.
     "For I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul writes, "for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous shall live by faith.'"
     References to Gaius in Romans 16:23 and 1 Corinthians 1:14 and to Erastus in Romans 16:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20 indicate that the letter was written while Paul was in Corinth, probably between 56 and 58 AD.  From the book of Acts we learn that this was about three years before Paul's visit to Rome as a prisoner.
     According to Romans 16:22 the letter was written by the hand of Tertius.  Romans 16:1 states that a woman named Phoebe delivered the letter.
     When we outline the book we find that Romans 1:18 through 3:20 contains a condemnation.  The Gentiles are condemned, the Jews are condemned and, finally, all are condemned.  As we shall see, though, this is not the message of the book.  This merely prepares the way for the message.
     From chapter three verse 21 through chapter four verse 25 the justice of God is promised.  The following section down through Romans 8:39 explains how this is obtained.
     The vindication is presented in Romans 9:1-11:36.  This ends the first part of the letter, which we would probably call "theoretical."  The rest of the book deals with application.  We would call this "hands-on."
     Romans 12:1-15:13 tells how to live the new life with our brothers, with the government, with our neighbors and with the spiritually weak.  The rest of the letter contains a conclusion.
     Now lets take a look at this great book.
     Paul, the bond-servant of Christ Jesus, was proud of two things: his power and his weakness.  His power was in the message he preached.  His weakness was whatever he could accomplish by his own talents.  As long as Paul was able to distinguish between the two, he could minimize the latter in order to leave room for the former.  Thus Paul allowed this message to put to use its power without being overshadowed by Paul's personality.  Because Paul recognized the fact that his weakness was his strength and his strength his weakness, he could boast only about the gospel of his Lord and that which the gospel accomplished through him (Rom. 15:18-19; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 2 Cor. 3:5; 4:5; 10:17-18; 11:30; 12:5-10; Gal. 6:14; Col. 2:8).  The Lord told Paul this very thing in 2 Cor. 12:9.
     This gospel and the privilege of preaching it were of first importance to Paul, as we note from Rom. 1:14-16, Rom. 10:14-15 and other passages (1 Cor. 9:16-18; 2 Cor. 5:11,20; 1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:2).
     Are the writings of the Old Testament of any use to us?  After all, we ARE under the new covenant.  But we often make the mistake of confusing the Old Testament with the old covenant.  The first contains the second, but they are not the same.  Here in verse two of Romans chapter one Paul appeals to the Old Testament.  He will develop more fully the relationship between the old and new covenants, but it should be mentioned here that Paul did not consider the Old Testament to be just so much excess baggage.  He talks in 2 Tim. 3:14-17 about sacred writings which are able to give wisdom that leads to salvation through faith.  These writings are profitable for the equipping of the man of God.  But Paul says Timothy has known these writings from his youth.  What could they be if not the Old Testament?
     Perhaps two things should be clarified here at the beginning.  The Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is the inspired Word of God.  This includes Paul's writings, which means that the things he expresses are from God and are not his own personal opinions.  The few times that the Word of God through Paul is in the form of a suggestion and not a command, Paul makes this clear.  See 1 Cor. 7:6, 26, 27, 35.  Paul's statements in 1 Cor. 7:10 and 12 do not mean that Paul is stepping out on an opinion that is not in agreement with what has been stated by the Lord.  He is simply saying that there are certain things about which the Lord did not comment, but about which he is now making a statement.  Paul's opinions, at least those which the Holy Spirit chose to give us through the Bible, are the Word of God (1 Cor. 7:40).
     Those who doubt either that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, or that Paul has the authority to speak for God, should consider the following verses: 1 Cor. 14:37; Gal. 1:11-12; 1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Tim. 1:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21 and 3:15-16.  We must be honest with ourselves and with the Bible.  Either we reject the Bible entirely or we accept it for what it claims to be.  It is dishonest to view the Bible as lying somewhere between these two extremes.  The Bible makes great claims for itself.  If it cannot live up to these claims 100 PERCENT, then it is worthy of nothing.  No good book makes such lofty claims if they are, in reality, lies.

     In verse seven Paul refers to the Roman Christians as "saints."  It doesn't take much in-depth reading of the New Testament to understand the biblical use of this word.  These are not "holier" people who have died and earned a high position in heaven.  They are living Christians FOR whom, and not TO whom, prayers are to be offered (Eph. 6:18).
     Paul commends his Roman brethren in verse 8 for their well-known faith.  He praises them again at the end of the book (16:19), but there he mentions their obedience.  Could it be that faith and obedience are related?
     John seems to think so (Jn. 3:36), as does Luke (Acts 6:7).  Paul says so not only in these two verses but also in Rom. 15:18 and 16:26.  James agrees (James 2:14-26).
     In fact, all of the things that lead to salvation are actions, and thus involve obedience.  Hearing, as intended by the New Testament, is active (Matt. 7:24-27).  We have just seen that biblical faith is active.  So are repentance (Lk. 3:8; Acts 26:20) and confession (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:31-46; Lk. 6:46; 2 Cor. 9:13).  Baptism by its very definition is an action, but Acts 8:36-39 should serve to point this out to anyone who is skeptical.
     One of the reasons that Paul wanted to personally visit Rome was to impart some spiritual gift to them.  Had they not been baptized and therefore received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)?  The answer is "yes" (Romans 6:3).  But the gift of the Holy Spirit which is promised in Acts 2:38, and therefore is received by all Christians, is not the same as the ability to perform miracles.  There was a similar situation in Acts 8 when many in Samaria were baptized by Philip, but some of the apostles were called to impart special gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Simon got one thing right: he observed that the ability to perform miracles was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands (Acts 8:18).  When the apostles died, so did the possibility to convey the power to perform miracles.
     It must be remembered that the first three chapters of Romans are not the message of the book, any more than condemnation to hell is the message of the New Testament.  The majority of Christ's teaching was not rebuke.  And the New Testament is not equally divided between negative (sinners are going to hell) and positive (Christians are going to heaven) teaching.  The message of the gospel is SALVATION.  The message of cancer research is CURING, but no one is going to go to a doctor (much less go through surgery or chemotherapy) unless they are convinced there is something wrong.  The message of Romans is presented in 1:16 and explained in chapter five, but neither the Jews nor the Gentiles are ready to listen.  So Paul must convict first the Gentiles (2:18-32) and then the Jews (2:17-3:16) that EVERYONE is lost (3:9,23).

     At first sight, God's attitude toward the Gentiles in the Old Testament might seem harsh, especially in light of the fact that "God abandoned them" (Romans 1:24,26 and 28) while He placed in the hands of the Jews a special system for following Him.
     Among the things that help us understand better the situation is the realization that God also abandoned the Jews (2 Kings 17:18-20 and 21:14), as Paul points out in chapters two and three.
     And, if the Jewish system was a blessing (for those who managed to follow it: Romans 3:10-11), it was also a great responsibility and therefore a curse for those who did not follow it perfectly (James 2:10-11; Galatians 3:10 ff, 5:3).
     God's promises have always been combined with nearness for those who draw near to Him and abandonment for those who abandon Him (Deuteronomy 4:25-31; James 4:8; Matthew 10:33).  What happens, then, is always the result of a free, personal choice.
     It must also be pointed out that God "gave them up" because of their desire to ignore Him and pursue unrighteousness (verse 26).  This cannot be twisted to mean the opposite: that they were lost because God gave them up.  God "gave them up" in verse 28 because they refused to have God in their knowledge.
     What a list follows!  But surely the Holy Spirit didn't mean to include full of envy, whisperers, backbiters, insolent, haughty, boastful and disobedient to parents along with murderers, hateful to God and without natural affection in the same list.  Or did He?  Maybe OUR lists are the ones that need to be revised.
     Because of the situation in our society today, we would do well to make special note of the condemnation of homosexuality in verses 24-27.  This is not an alternate life-style and it is not an uncontrollable condition.  It is a willful sin.
     Oh, we have many so-called experts who argue to the contrary.
     "Professing to be wise," verse 22 points out, "they become fools."
     Look also at 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.
     The last two verses say that these are people who know (or should know, vss. 20-21) that these things are wrong and worthy of punishment.  These are not only people who do these things, but are also people who consent with those who practice them.  Do we give our consent when we don't inform someone that something is wrong?
     Are we giving consent to and even following falsehood that leads to destruction, or are we searching for the truth that will set us free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."