Romans 2:5-11

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5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. ~ Romans 2:5-11

Today, we return to our study of Romans 2 where the Apostle Paul is bringing everyone into God's court of law in order to show us that we are all guilty of falling short of His glory. In today's passage, the Apostle has turned the page from those who have rejected God and His truth to those who judge them. The problem with this second group is that they are just as guilty before God as those who practice ungodliness. These in today's passage are just as guilty as those whom they judge. These are guilty of something those who they judge are not: hypocrisy.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."

Beginning in v.1 of this chapter, the Apostle Paul turns his attention on those who are moral, but, they do not have a personal relationship with God. These are those who appear to be right with God but they look down their noses at those who act on their sinfulness in more degrading ways than they do.

In this verse the Apostle pinpoints the problem of these who judge others: their hard and impenitent heart. The Greek word translated "hard" here is the word from which we get our English word sclerosis. Anyone with sclerosis of any kind is on his way to death. Spiritually speaking, the Apostle is referencing the self-righteous, moral man, who thinks he sits in judgment with God on his throne with Him. 

The word translated "impenitent" describes someone who has yet entered into a personal relationship with God for if they had they would not be judging the sinfulness of others. To be impenitent is to feel not one ounce of shame for our judgement of others. Those who have been forgiven offer forgiveness to others not condemnation.

The word "treasuring" means this type of person is constantly making self destructive deposits into their own ledger which one day will come due. These types of people think that their supposed morality is a kind of a bargain with God who they think has said, "If you keep a lot of rules, I'll reward your goodness." This is not the case because God righteously judges us all, and, His judgement of our sinfulness shows no respecter of persons. The only thing that enables us to avoid the wrath of God is the gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality."

God's judgment of us all will be based on how we stack up against the truth. This is why in John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me." 

The two Old Testament passages that Paul quotes here, Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12, both are passages that warn against pride. The way we live our lives reveals what we value. Those who are being defined by God and His culture demonstrate that they value God. Thus, they will be rewarded with what they were seeking: life with God. Those whose disobedience to God demonstrates their selfish ambition, their pride will face His wrath.

The Apostle Paul makes his presentation as he does here to show that no man can produce the "deeds" worthy of God's forgiveness. In fact, this is the direction the book of Romans is going. In order for us to be declared forgiven, we must first be declared guilty. Eternal life only goes to those who trust in the perfect God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. God, at tremendous cost, provided for the believer the only way to avoid His wrath. It is realized by those who give up on our efforts to earn His favor. This is why the Lord Jesus implored us to lose our lives. It is when we submit to the death of our ambitions to measure up to the truth, which we can not do, that we find eternal life only in the Lord Jesus Christ and His merit.

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek."

The real problem of sinful and rebellious man is himself. It is the worship of ourselves that prevents us from seeking the God of truth. In fact, when we worship ourselves, we go the way of Satan, the one whose title means "one who opposes." And, here we see the conflict between God's righteous indignation and the moral man's unrighteous indignation. 

For those without the heart change that is rendered when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God's indignation, God's wrath, tribulation, and anguish await him. Sinfulness has a price tag and it is only the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ that can cash that price tag in for our rightness before the holy God.

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God."

There is coming a day when God will welcome the righteous into His heaven and the unrighteous will go to hell. The difference will be that the ones who will enter into heaven were those who sought. They sought God's glory, honor, and peace, not their own. We do not read in v.10 that they deserved it. No, what we discover is they just sought God. And, as a result, they will be rewarded by the proof of the righteousness that had been applied to them through believing in Christ as their Savior. The hearts of those who seek God will enjoy His peace, honor, and glory. And, the only favorites God has are those who believed in His One and Only Begotten Son who shares His glory with all humble enough to cry out to Him for help.

Romans 2:1-4

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1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ~ Romans 2:1- 4

Today, we transition into Romans 2 where we find ourselves in the middle of the Apostle Paul's scathing description of the unsaved man. When man rejected the true God he had nowhere else to turn but to himself, and, when man turns to worshipping himself, he inevitably ends up in destruction.

In v.1 of today's passage, we read, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."

Whenever we encounter a "therefore" in the Scriptures, we must always ask, "what it is there for?" Having described those who rejected the truth of God and the God of truth in Romans 1, the Apostle Paul turns our attention to those who pass judgment on those who deserve Hell. The people Paul describes here in today's passage were moral people who looked down their nose on those who had just been described in Romans 1:19-32. 

Anyone who sits in the seat of moral judgment proves he is inexcusable if he can condemn other people, since he knows the standard, and, in reality, does the same thing, even if in a secret and hidden fashion. No one can escape the penalty of his sin on his own. Especially can the moral man not escape the judgement of God, because he has been exposed to the standard and to the goodness of God. Morality and spirituality are not one in the same.

We are really good at pointing out other people's faults while we ourselves have those faults ourselves. We all find it very easy to point out others sin, but we hope others do not see ours. In the context of all of this, we forget that we can not possibly know what's going on in other people's hearts. Only God can do that. We tend to be hard on others and soft on ourselves when it comes to passing judgment. The self-confident moralist hopes that God will grade him on a curve. But, the obvious truth is we are all deserving of Hell.

In v.2-3 of today's passage we read, "2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" 

God judges based upon the truth which does not change. And, God judges also on the basis of our practice. This word "practice" denotes that the sins listed at the end of the previous chapter are descriptive of the person's lifestyle. The Apostle Paul was not writing about those who have temporary slip-ups with said sins. He was addressing those whose lifestyle is regularly described by those sins. He was addressing those who had rejected God and His truth.

The fact that God judged the Lord Jesus while He hung on the cross on the basis of the truth, underscores the preciousness of that voluntary act done by the Lord on our behalf. If He had not gone to the cross and be made sin for us, we would have absolutely no hope. But, since the Lord Jesus did, we can escape the judgement of God by depending upon His work on that cross for the forgiveness of our sin.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"

It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, to turn away from self to be defined by Him. God's goodness, tolerance, and patience are exhibited by the fact that He gives us the chance to own up to our utter wickedness, to confess our need of Him and the depend upon His Son's death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. And, once we do that, we should not be judgmental of others.

Kindness is a better way to explain God's goodness here, because it is not goodness as opposed to badness. It is that He is good in the sense of being benevolent, generous, merciful, and kind. God does not just see our sinful deeds, He also sees our sinful condition. We have to see all our life in this respect. A faithful God, judging the inner part of our lives gives us these opportunities. He knows we are blind to our sinfulness. He knows that we often struggle at recognizing what is wrong in our lives, and so He gives us these opportunities to turn away from self and to turn to Him. These moments of truth are very important.

The repentance the Apostle Paul writes about here is repentance from our way, dependence upon self. The man who equates spirituality with morality does not get what it is really all about. He sees himself sharing the throne with God. He sees Himself as earning God's favor. But there is a problem with sharing the throne with God. We can't! We are still flawed and not consistent with "the Truth." And if we have experienced the kindness of God, we will not be judgemental. 

Have you ever noticed that we do not judge the ones we love? It bears to reason, when we judge, we have a love problem. This is why in Romans 5 the Apostle Paul writes about the love of God being poured out in our hearts. This is Paul's argument and he is nailing the Jewish Christians in Rome with his words "But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."

Finally, it appears that that Paul is saying that we earn our salvation, but as we have pointed out over and over before, how much goodness on our behalf is enough to merit God's favor? Of course, the answer is we can not be good enough. We will see that the key to our rightness with God is not the amount or quality of our goodness but the object of our faith in His goodness that makes us right with God. 

Romans 1:28-32

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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. ~ Romans 1:28-32 

Today, we conclude our study of Romans 1 where we have been considering the essence of sin in v.24-25, the ultimate expression of sin in v.26-27. And, today, we will consider the extent of sin in v.28-32. 

The theme of Romans is the gospel of Jesus Christ reveals God’s righteousness, and, by believing in the finished work of Christ on the cross, man can be made right with God. We do not realize how amazing God's grace is until we have discovered the awfulness of His wrath. Before we can understand the good news of salvation, we must first know the bad news of condemnation. This is why the Apostle Paul addresses the sinfulness of man in the first three chapters of Romans. 

In Romans 1:18 we read, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness."

The bad news is we have been separated from God and life itself, and, we all are bound for the ultimate consequence of our sin which is Hell. Rebellious man is continually being given over to the consequences of his rebellion against God whose wrath was awakened by our sin. Sin is a death always dying.   

As we have considered the essence and the ultimate expression of our sin, today, we come to Paul's third usage of the phrase "God gave them over." 

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "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."

This is the beginning of the extent of man's sin. Rebellious and sinful man does not want to retain God in his knowledge. So, God gave man up to his desire to exist independently of Him. We abandoned God! As a result, God has let us go our own way. And, with sin as our master, we are led to a debased, reprobate, defective and corrupt mind. As a result, man chooses to do things that are not fitting, things that God never intended for us to do. 

In v.29 of today's passage we read, "being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers."

The first three words of this verse says it all. It does not read, "affected by" or "influenced by." It reads, "being filled with." This means man is continually being filled with the consequences of thinking God is a fool and he is not. "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"

That word "unrighteousness" means to delight in doing what is opposite of God. This means man deliberately has departed from that which is best for him. The first expression of this is seen in his sexual immorality. The Greek word used here translated "sexual immorality" is the word from which we get our English word pornography which literally means the messages of prostitutes.

This leads to "wickedness" which means the sexual perversions to which pornography leads us. Interestingly, this word "porneia" is most often used of Satan in the Bible. It is active malice. It is not only doing evil, but being evil.

The next sin on the Apostle's list is "covetousness" which reveals the ultimate desire behind all sin. Covetousness is greed, craving more than we have and wishing we had what somebody else has. The problem with this: we will never be satisfied by anything this world has to offer us.

Next is "maliciousness" which comes from the Greek goddess, "Kakia," who personified the spirit of vice and immorality. This goddess was depicted as a vain, plump and heavily made-up woman dressed in revealing clothes. 

And then there is "full of envy" which means hating someone because they have what you want or they are what you want to be. Following this, there is "murder," which is killing someone without just cause. And, "strife" which is being argumentative and anxious to fight about whatever. And then, "deceit" which literally gives the picture of a fish hook being set in the mouth.  And then we have "evil-mindedness" which is spite or revenge with the desire to hurt or to harm another. And then, there is the word "whisperers" which is the word for gossipers and describes private slander.

In v.30-31 of today's passage we read, "30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful."

As if this list were not bad enough, the first descriptor used in v.30 is "backbiters." This word describes people who openly slander others. They do this because they are "haters of God," people who do not respect God. They, like Satan, admit God exists but they so hate Him that they openly defy Him.

Then there is the word "violent" which reveals these people have contempt not only for God but for everyone. Then there is the word "proud" which describes a people who display an attitude of superiority. And, then there is the word "boasters" which describes those who vocalize their seeming superiority.

The list next reveals those who are known to be "inventors of evil things." They invent devices designed to express filthiness. "Disobedient to parents," and "undiscerning" go hand in hand since how we grow in respect for authority enables us to think most clearly and logically. "Untrustworthy" and "unloving" also go hand in hand since the word used for "unloving" describes someone who lacks natural affection or brotherly love. The list concludes with "unforgiving" and "unmerciful" which both reveal that they are heartless, cruel, ruthless, and lacking all grace. 

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "... 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."  

Once sin runs its course, it drives us deeper into its dungeon of despair and destruction, even though we may not display all of these sins listed. This is the wrath of God at work and rebellious man is sadly left to the essence, the ultimate expression and the extent of his depravity. The problem is not with God, as some suggest. The problem is that man loves his sin too much. As a result God has given rebellious man over to his own destructive self. The design behind giving man over to himself is the hope that when sin has beaten him up so badly that man has been made ready to welcome the light of God back into his life. For those who get the message, eternity will be the most welcomed sight ever.

Romans 1:26-27

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26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural  relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. ~ Romans 1:26-27

Today, we return to our study of Romans 1. In this chapter the phrase "God gave them over" appears three times. This phrase comes in response to man violently rebelling against God. He believed the lie of Satan that says, "You can make it on your own without God."

The first time the Apostle used this phrase, in v.24, he uncovered the essence of sin which is the worship of self. Today, we will consider his second usage of the phrase where the Apostle reveals the ultimate expression of sin.

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones."

It is at the root of our sin that we find the essence of our sin: the worship of self. Apart from God, the pursuit of pleasure becomes our god. In fact, if we get far enough away from God, we pursue pleasure at all costs. Trying to satisfy our pleasure in a way contrary to the way God has instructed us to only leads to extreme expressions such as "exchanging natural sexual relations for unnatural ones."

Mankind started with revelation from God in his conscience and through creation. But, we embraced rejection of that revelation from God. This, ultimately, led us to a reprobate mind. The phrase "God gave them up,” describes what God does in response to man's rejection of Him. Literally that phrase speaks of turning someone over to a judge in a courtroom, and they are sentenced to death. The man who rejects God suffers the sentence of death, and death brings with it destruction.

Pleasure is a God-given idea. Temptation is the desire to meet a God-given desire in a way that is not God-designed. In this chapter is described the downward spiral of ignoring God's definition of the way human life is supposed to be lived. Blasé Pascal once said it well, "God has created us with a God-shaped vacuum that only He can fill." Today, we must be mindful to allow God to define our lives for us or we go the way of self that so many down throughout time have gone. And, that way will always lead to destruction.

The Romans of Paul's day were very good at pursuing their pleasures apart from God. In his article, Rome didn't Fall in a Day, Edward Gibbon wrote, "Decadence is the first word that comes to mind in almost any discussion on the fall of Rome. Tales of wanton sexual excesses and the gorging of food within Roman vomitoriums are often used to explain how something as enduring as the Roman Empire could possibly be laid to waste by German barbarians. The fall of Rome is often pitched as an antithesis for family values, with pornography and homosexuality touted as the hallmarks of modern moral decadence.”

Someone once said, "Sin is a death always dying." In our passage for today, the Apostle shows us the extreme to where such a pursuit to fulfill our desires in an ungodly way leads us. Psychological confusion with regard to the truth is one of the many consequences of rejecting God and His truth. In v.24-25 we saw that this leads to sexual immorality. When a society becomes pornographic, immorality has definitely gained the upper hand. 

The heart of fallen man is wretched. And, apart from God lust dominates the unforgiven heart. This inevitably leads to impurity and the bodies of those who reject God follow in the most dishonorable ways. This is what is being described in today's passage. 

The word "nature" at the end of v.26 means the natural order of things. God has established a natural order of things and when we ignore His definition of things and we operate according to that which is contrary, we are being defined by sin. Errant theology leads to errant understanding of all things, including our sexuality. When we get God wrong, we get humanity wrong. As a result man defiles and dishonors his body through his vile passions. And, the evil desires that we know to be in us. or the flesh, as the Apostle Paul writes, are never satisfied.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."   

During the first century world in which Paul lived and wrote, homosexuality was commonplace. Most of the great philosophers extolled it & practiced it. Men like Socrates were homosexuals. Out of the first fifteen Roman emperors, fourteen of them practiced it. Once again, when the restraints are removed, the lies of the enemy define. Homosexuality is against the God of creation. Not even animals don't do this. 

But, the beauty of it all is God loves homosexuals. He hates what any distortion of truth does to people. At the end of v.27 we read, "received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

The consequence of rejecting God and His definition of things leads to error and destruction. This is what sin does, it destroys us. The essence of man's sinfulness is an unclean heart. The expression of his sinfulness is perversion. Evil gets its way when we resist Gods involvement in our lives. Our only hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ who took sin on directly, so that we could be freed from the clutches of sin itself. 

Romans 1:22-25

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22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. ~ Romans 1:22-25

Today, we return to our study of Romans 1 where we have learned that when we reject God and His culture, our thinking becomes futile and our hearts have become darkened. It is at this point that the needs of others around us become of no concern to us. Selfishness causes us to lose compassion and awareness of the struggles and needs of others around us. Numbness toward God translates into numbness toward the sincere needs of others.

In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."

When we claim to be wise, we are trying to be God. The result of such is we become fools. This literally means that we lose touch with reality. Sinful man who refuses to accept the truth, destroys his God-given ability to discriminate. It is in this context that illogical thinking takes over. Once we have abandoned the ability to think logically, every thought becomes captive to what is wrong. In this context, truth cannot be perceived accurately by the one who has rejected God. And, the biggest fool of all is the one who has rejected the light, gone into the darkness, and now rationalizes that the darkness is light, and the light is darkness. 

The word translated here "fools" is the word from which we get our English word "moron." The "wisdom" of the fool is limited to one sphere. He is wise in his own conceited self-styled perception. My dad once accurately said, "Son, some people are so narrow-minded, they can look through a key hole with both eyes."

This leads rebellious man to "exchange the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."

Since we were created to worship, we will always worship something. And when we reject worshipping God, we will worship things. We call this idolatry. That which we worship will always be a substitute for God. This is an attempt on fallen man's behalf to make God seem to be less than what He is. When we reject God, we essentially end up worshipping self. This is the way Satan operates; he does not get us to follow him, he gets us to follow self. And, when we follow self, we are indirectly following him.

In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

Due to the Fall, man has no capacity to restrain his sinfulness. There's only one force in the entire universe that can restrain evil and that is God. This is why our worship of God is so important, because what we worship defines us. The problem is when we reject God too much, there comes a point that God no longer restrains the enemy from us. The more God lets go of a person, the worse it gets.   

Since the Fall, man has been trying to remove the consequence of his sin. Think about all the medicines that have been invented to stop venereal disease. But, venereal disease is God's way of stopping immorality. And as soon as we began to get the upper hand on venereal diseases, we are freed up to do whatever we want. And, it is then that we reap the results. So in a very real sense, without hurling fire from heaven, without some cataclysmic event, God pours out His wrath on a day-by-day basis as He gives man up to the destructiveness of his own sin. Man's ill-informed passions become the very instruments of God's wrath.

Beginning in v.24, the Apostle Paul uses a four word phrase to get his point across. The phrase is: “God gave them up.” This phrase is repeated in v.26 and v.28. The phrase used here describes the essence of man's sinfulness. When God lets man go, man always goes directly to moral uncleanness. As indicated in the previous verse, God gave man up because man rejected the revelation of God. And, since we were all created to worship, when we have rejected God, we end up worshipping self. This is the essence of sin.  

The essence of man's sinfulness is discovered in the many expressions of his impure heart. Sinful and unbelieving man was and is being given over to the rottenness that is within him. We were given over to what we desired: a God-rejecting heart.    

As indicated at the end of v.24, when we reject God, we end up dishonoring our own bodies. Our vile hearts, apart from God's presence in our lives, is the reason that man becomes sexually perverted. The phrase, "the degrading of their bodies with one another," is the lust of their hearts. Unsaved man who has rejected God's culture, perverts God's intended use for his body. 

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie." The lie is: God doesn't have to be obeyed or honored or glorified. Satan first pushed this lie in the Garden. Adam and Eve believed this lie, and, they gave into a posture that constantly tempted them to believe God is not good. This is at the very root of sin, the very essence of sin, the suspicion that God is not good. So, mankind deserved punishment. And, everyone is without excuse.

Romans 1:19-21

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"19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world  God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ~ Romans 1:19-21

Today, we continue our study of Romans 1 where we are given the process that unbelieving man has gone through that has resulted in his rejection of God and His culture. This process is ultimately steeped in the pride of man. This comes as no surprise since the very sin that inaugurated sin is pride.

In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world  God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

God can not be blamed for the demise of man because He made Himself known to man through creation. Although God is invisible, He is knowable. God has given man visible proof of His existence in the creation. In addition, He has given us a conscience to know in our hearts that He exists. And so, we are without excuse. 

The argument that Paul uses in this portion is known as the teleological argument  which is the argument of God's existence from the design in creation. Water, for example, is lifted against gravity thousands of feet into the air, suspended until it is carried inland where the rain falls. No earthly agency can lift water like that. God equipped the sun through the process of evaporation to do this incredible thing. And, think of it, the sun is perfectly placed ninety-three million miles away from earth suspended in the air. The very essence of the One who created us all is absolutely everywhere in creation.

Men have experienced God, His wisdom, His power, and His goodness in every moment of their existence, and man has largely rejected God. In doing this man has suppressed the truth about God. When we observe creation, we understand that this world was custom made. In fact, all of creation was designed. And, since it has been designed, it must therefore have a designer. Through the art that we find all around us, we know that there is an Artist behind it all.

The word "plain" in v.19 means evident. In fact, the atheist must turn off his reason in order to believe there is no God behind all of creation. The further out into our galaxy and beyond that we go the more the atheist expects to find chaos, but it never happens because the God of the Bible created it all with design. God would never send someone to hell who didn’t have an opportunity to know Him. The God of the Bible is a God of justice, truth and equity, and, we can trust Him. 

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Man, in his heart, knows there is a God. Creation manifests the existence of God. The word used here translated "knew" means intimate understanding. It is intimate because God has placed eternity in our hearts. We call this our conscience. And, between our conscience and His creation, man knows there is a God behind it all.

The natural order of things is revealed in v.21. After we acknowledge God exists, it is natural for us to glorify Him. To glorify God means to be defined by Him or to agree with His definition of all things and choosing to live accordingly. But, the man who turns off his logical capabilities does not acknowledge God and therefore does not glorify His existence. This is the heart and soul of the fallenness of man that he refuses to glorify God. 

God could have just obliterated man after we rebelled against Him, but He didn't. God desired to reach out to man by revealing to man His glory. And, God didn't stop at creation, He sent His Son who was full of the glory of God. In sending His Son, God revealed Himself more intimately to the willing.

Interestingly, all of the created world, other than man, naturally glorifies God. In the Old Testament we read, "The heavens declare the glory of God." Creation does not argue with God on this issue. There has never been a revolt among the stars of the sky. No, they day in and day out glorify God by existing according to the purpose for which they were made. The animals glorify God as well. They live and behave in the way that God created them to. Only fallen man chooses not to operate according to his God-given specifications.

When man turns off the revelation of God through his conscience and creation, gratitude for his Maker makes no sense to him at that point. Rebellious and unbelieving man does not ascribe everything he possesses to the God who gave it to him in the first place. When man arrives upon his rejection of God, pretty soon he has no one to thank. Then it becomes illogical for man to be thankful. 

The final words in v.21 are: "but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Man’s failure is not that he fails to recognize God, but that he refuses to glorify God. Instead of glorifying God and being grateful to Him, "their thinking became futile." This means their ability to make sense out of life becomes "empty" and "senseless." When we reject God, we end up with an empty mind. Man's empty thoughts, lead him to uselessness, pointlessness, purposeless thinking.  They go from truth to emptiness.

According to the Bible, the heart is the source of emotion, intellect and volition. We feel, think and behave with our hearts. The foolish heart has been “darkened” or separated from its true source. This means that a heart that has been darkened feels, thinks and acts as though God does not exist. And, when we choose not to serve the true God, we will end up serving a false one made in our image. The rejection of the God of the Bible is the height of foolishness and arrogance and results ultimately in the worship of self. This is what darkens our hearts. And that is very important because faith, real faith is the ability to see with our hearts.

Romans 1:18

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"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness." ~ Romans 1:18

What do you think of when you hear the words "the wrath of God?" When I was younger, I had an understanding of God which was quite inconsistent with the Bible. I believed that God was lurking behind any billboard, just waiting for me to do something wrong, and then He would pounce on me. This view of God was not accurate. In fact, the Bible consistently teaches that the problem is not with God, it is with us. 

Interestingly, the gospel message begins with a statement about the wrath of God. Frankly that’s diametrically opposed to most of our evangelistic techniques. Most of our contemporary evangelism purposely avoids the wrath of God. We talk about love, and we talk about happiness, and we talk about abundant living, and we talk about forgiveness, and joy and peace. And we offer people all of those things and ask them if they wouldn’t like to have all of those things. But we very rarely talk about God's judgment. We err when we do this.

The shortness of life, the brevity of it, the sorrow of it, the tragedy of all of the pain involved, this is all part of what is captured here under this phrase, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven." No one escapes God's wrath; it is being revealed, and we have to face it. Fear, for most, must be the first pressure applied. This is the case because we will not understand anything about God's love until we understand God’s hatred of sin. We do not understand nor do we appreciate God's grace until we understand the wickedness of our sin.

God’s attributes are perfectly balanced in His divine perfection. If He had no wrath, He would not be God. God is perfect in love, on the one hand, and He is equally perfect in hate, on the other. Just as totally as He loves, so totally He hates. As His love is unmixed, so is His hatred of sin unmixed. 

The bad news has to come before the good news, doesn’t it?  It’s kind of like going to the doctor and having the doctor say, “I have bad news. You have a fatal illness that has killed many people. But, I have good news. A cure has been found, and I have it right here.” The good news means nothing without the bad news.  We must diagnose the disease before the cure can be appreciated. The bad news is God hates sin, and, the good news is God loves us.  We must start with His hatred of sin. There must be the diagnosis before there can be the cure.

When mankind chose to ignore God's definition of things, we gave the enemy the right to define us and our world. Thus, we are not defined by God and we are messed up because of it. Of course, as Paul has pointed out in Romans 1:16-17, God moved to remedy our sin problem by sending His Son to remove the chasm what was created by the rebellion of mankind. 

When it comes to sin, it is in our nature to water down its definition. We define sin as whites lies, mistakes, disorders. No, sin is deliberate wicked rebellion. It is wicked because we have allowed the one who opposes God and who is wicked to define things for us. Yes, we were deceived but we gave into it. 

Notice the order in v.18 -- godlessness and then wickedness. Throughout the Scriptures, this order is never reversed. It is our godless definitions that produces the wicked actions that we make. That is why the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against man. Godlessness isn't necessarily atheism or the belief that God doesn't exist. Godlessness is acting as though he doesn't exist. 

As a result, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we try to hide or suppress the definition of God of all things by embracing the definitions of Satan. We do not do this knowingly. No, we have been deceived into believing that Satan's definition of things is right and normal. That is until his definition of things begins to bite us in the butt. And then, we want to blame God for that. We act selfishly and we deliberately hurt each other because we disregard God and His definition of things. By means of these hurtful and selfish acts, the truth is suppressed. 

We live in a world in which the truth from God is all around us, but we are busy covering it up, hiding it, suppressing it, keeping it from being prominent and dominant in our thinking and our living. It is against that attitude of hiding truth and suppressing the truth that the wrath of God burns. The reason why life has turned tragic in so many cases is because the world is deprived of the truth which is necessary for life and liberty and freedom and godliness to be realized.

The wrath of God is the absence of God in our world and our lives.

The greatest demonstration of God's wrath ever was given at the cross of Christ. God's hatred for sin was shown best when He poured out His wrath on His own beloved Son. And, He did not hold it back even from His own Son. This underscores God's love for fallen man. That’s how much He hates sin. And, He had not, we would have been left in our sin, defined and destined by Satan himself. 

Romans 1:16-17

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"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" ~ Romans 1:16-17 

We return to our study of Romans where we are given the most life-transforming truths ever given to man in one book. In fact, every major doctrine in the Bible is delivered in this letter. If we really understand and respond to these truths, for us, time and eternity will be totally altered. 

There are four key words in these two verses that make up the thesis statement for this book. Once we have understood these four words, we will discover that we will never be ashamed of the gospel ourselves. These four words are "power," "salvation," "believes" and "righteousness." 

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."

The Apostle Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, because it deals with the bottom line real issue in all of our lives. Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Berea, laughed at in Athens, ridiculed as a fool in Corinth, stoned while in Galatia. And yet, he was eager to preach this gospel in Rome. The Apostle Paul was convinced of the veracity in the gospel. His eagerness was the result of understanding that the gospel does something no man can do for himself: to change his heart. It is the righteousness of Christ only that makes the sinner worthy before God. And, this righteousness is free to anyone willing enough to believe that the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ solved our greatest problem. This is what Paul writes about throughout the book of Romans.

Paul used the word power to describe the ability of the gospel to change the human heart. By using this word from which we get our English word "dynamite," Paul wrote of the omnipotence of God. The all powerful God of the universe is behind this operative power of regenerating us, of making us alive to Him.

There is a basic power within us all that makes us clamor for change. Deep down within us all, we really want our lives to be different, but we are utterly impotent to change ourselves. The advertisers of this world know this and make billions of dollars convincing on us that their product will change our lives. But, it never happens that way. This is why God delivered the gospel the way He did. He delivered the gospel of His Son as a force that He uses to transform our very lives through a personal relationship with Him.

The Romans were a very proud people due to their advancements in the world. They prided themselves on their military power that could conquer all other nations. They also had a tremendous program of road-building. They even had some of the greatest law-makers of history. And, Paul knew that the Romans also were powerless when it came to changing their hearts. They were powerless to eliminate slavery. In fact, up to half of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves. They were powerless to change the stubborn, hostile, hateful hearts of men and eliminate violence. The Roman Empire was full of violence and corruption and the suicide rate was extremely high at that time. The Romans could do nothing about these things. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ only that unleashes the power of God to do these very things that man cannot do. 

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

The righteousness of God that Paul writes about speaks not of a righteous God judging an unrighteous world, as much as a righteous God imputing righteousness to an unrighteous world. I find it staggering that God would use His very own righteousness to forgive us. And, the death of God was a must for the righteousness of God to be delivered to the ungodly. 

The salvation that God offers us operates only through faith, that’s all. This salvation is not something we will ever earn, it is something we receive when we recognize our need for it. This is why the Apostle spends the first three chapters of this book convincing us that we are sinful, wretched, and, hopeless apart from Christ before he delves deeply into the gospel. This is why the word "law" appears 78 times throughout this epistle. It is the law of God which condemns us in our sinful state. It is the efforts of Christ, only, which renders us acceptable before God.

Biblical faith is trust. Even faith or the ability to believe is a gift from God. And, this faith is trusting and believing in our hearts that God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Faith in Him renders salvation from the penalty, power and presence of sin. It is not baptism. It is not moral reform. Salvation is not going to church, and, it is not conforming to rules. It’s not even self-discipline and restraint. It’s not morality. No, this salvation is a personal relationship with God wherein our hearts are being changed as we learn of His great love for us for eternity.

Romans 1:11-15

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11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. ~ Romans 1:11-15

Today, we continue our study of Romans which was written thirty years after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first seventeen verses of Romans provides an introduction that points us to the goal of the book which is service. In our last blog/podcast we considered four of the seven characteristics which aid us to serve God and others best. Today, we will consider the final three. 

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith."

The fifth characteristic which aids us at being servants is fostering a loving heart for others. Serving must never be done to gain attention from others. This calling is doing the will of God from the heart. "For God so loved the world that He gave..." That is what love does, it gives. The number one quality of love is giving; it gives of its time, talents and treasures. The Apostle Paul wanted to give to the believers in Rome something that would establish them in their walk with the Lord.

The phrase "spiritual gift" reveals that the source of the gift was the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wanted to give the believers in Rome a gift from the Holy Spirit. And, his purpose was "to make them strong" in their faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul greatly desired to provide for them the means to make them more spiritually mature. That is what makes a church strong, the exercising of our spiritual gifts for one another's benefit. 

The Apostle also expected them to minister to him with the spiritual gifts that they had been given by the Holy Spirit. Thus, Paul expected they would mutually be strengthened by one another's faith in Christ. This is how God wants the church to operate, each of us ministering to each other, building up one another by our faith and sharing and exercising the gifts God has given. The professionalization of ministry has undermined this idea for many, many years. This explains why many churches lack maturity in the faith.

In v.12, we see the sixth characteristic that enables us to serve best. The way the Apostle wrote v.12, it is revealed that he had a humble disposition. I say this because the Apostle wasn't just planning to go into the church at Rome and exercising his spiritual gifts, he wanted the ministry to be a mutual thing. That takes humility which is the sixth characteristic designed to make us the servants God wants us to be.

Humility is born out of a heart that has lost sight of self. When we are truly humble, there will be no hint of superiority when we are around others. This idea of mutual ministry is born in such a context. And, this is what makes a local body of believers stronger in the faith. 

To be humble means simply to consider the needs of others more important than our own. The Lord Jesus considered that our need was so great that He left heaven to come here to meet our need. When we get to heaven, we will know then the enormity of that decision that the Lord Jesus made to humble Himself. The humble hearted servant is always thankful, prayerful, willing to be the solution to the problem if it's God's will. And it all comes out of a loving heart that seeks to wrap itself around others, not only for what it can give, but also for what can be given. In fact, when we prevent others from giving to us, we are stunting their spiritual growth.  

In v.13 of today's passage we read, " I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles."

The seventh characteristic that aids us to be servants is

fixing our eyes on the fruit which is really the expression of God in the context of ministry. 

Paul didn't go to Rome because he was prevented by the Lord from doing so. It was not the Lord's will at that point that he go to Rome, even though Paul desperately wanted to. Paul's view of the ministry was a quest for the will of God which always produces spiritual fruit.  

Ministry is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end. The purpose of ministry is to get people to engage with God. The product of the growth of our faith is a desire to see others experience what we have experienced with God. I have never understood why Christians want to bash others for their sinfulness. We should be so broken hearted for them that we compassionately and patiently work with them until they enter into or go further into a personal relationship with God. Ministry is to touch the hearts of people with the truth of God.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome."

It is out of a sense of obligation that we are motivated to serve God and others. And, we owe the same to the best as we do the less. The word "eager" literally means "a great readiness of mind." The Lord Jesus once said, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." The word translated "willing" is the same word used here translated "eager."

The Apostle Paul yielded himself into being expendable because, he knew the love of the Father. When we are defined by God's love, we will be compelled deeply from the heart to help others in any way we possibly can. The Apostle wrote, "For to me to live is Christ; to die is gain." All of this leads us to life’s true purpose which is: To know God and to make Him known.

Romans 1:8-10

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8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. ~ Romans 1:8-10

Today, we continue our study of Romans 1. In the first fifteen verses of this epistle, the Apostle Paul gives us seven characteristics that are needed in order to equip us at accomplishing the goal of this book. You will remember that the last section of Romans is about service, so, being a servant is the end result of knowing all of the theological truths found in this most powerful epistle. 

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world." 

The first of the seven characteristics needed to serve well is that we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul has been demonstrating since the very first word of this epistle, the servant of the Lord must have firm faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Lord Jesus, there is no point to our endeavors to serve God and others. Only the Lord holds the keys to effective servant leadership.

The second of the seven characteristics needed to be the servants that we want to be is prayer. In v.8 the Apostle highlights his prayer for the believers in Rome, even though he had never met them. It is a shame that most think of prayer as a crisis event. They think, “I'm in trouble, I had better pray.” But, prayer is conversation with our Maker who knows everything. It is wise of us to seek Him to know the One who knows all of the secrets of a successful life.

The Apostle Paul began this prayer with: "I thank my God." This introduces us to the third of the seven characteristics of the biblical servant , and, that is being grateful. Being grateful is a learned characteristic. The alternative to gratitude is complaining. Rather than complaining, it is better to go to the Lord with our needs and while telling Him about our needs, make the effort to be thankful. There is a silver lining in every cloud, only discovered by him is looking for it.

Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. When we make it a habit of thanking God, we will be most effective at serving Him which is an effective antidote for complaining. Gratitude is the soil in which joy flourishes.

In addition to being in relationship with the Lord and developing that attitude of gratitude, our growing faith in the Lord Jesus enables us to serve best. This is the fourth characteristic that enables us to be the servants that we want to be.

At the end of v.8 the Apostle accentuates the idea that the faith of the Roman believers was being noticed all around the world. It was the faith of the Christians in Rome that got the attention of the Roman world. 

Our faith is like the modulator on a transistor radio. The finer the tuning to the frequency the better we hear the station. It is the same with our faith in the God of the Bible. That which fine tunes our faith in the God of the Bible best is the Word of God. It is imperative that when we read the Bible, we do so in order to meet with God. Instead of just studying His Word, we must learn to become more and more intimate with Him. This only happens in the context of relationship with God. And, the more His Word gets into us, the more we generally are enabled to hear Him with our hearts. And, this is when our faith in Him grows.

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times."

The phrase: "whom I serve in my spirit" is key to our understanding of how our walk with God works. The Apostle Paul had been raised in Judaism and he knew religion intimately for himself. He knew the externals of religion. In fact, Paul understood how religion serves the flesh. And, the flesh is the sinful desires that we all have within us, even though we may have been "born again." To religious people, service is external and superficial just like religion. True service is a heart thing. True service happens when our hearts are engaged with God and others and we do it with the right motivations.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you."

These four characteristics that we have considered help us to hone in on the will of God for our lives. All that we desire in this world is merely echoes for the will of God for our lives. 

In Romans 12:1 we read, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

Literally translated, the last four words of this verse means "logical and reasonable service." The last section of the book of Romans is about service and it makes a lot of sense that Paul would write what he did here in Romans 12:1.

It is not only reasonable for man to be available to God, it is also logical for our existence. Frequently this word translated "worship" is translated "service" in the Bible. Service and worship are synonymous. The greatest worship that we will ever render to God and to others is to serve Him. Paul says, "I serve Him in my spirit," and, his spirit was full of the Holy Spirit.

When we are filled with God's Spirit, we will be granted the heart of the Lord. As a result, we discover, like the Apostle Paul, we will be engaged in praying for those we serve regularly! This is why the church in Rome flourished. The late Mike Yaconelli, founder of Youth Specialties once said, "The power of the Church is not a parade of flawless people, but of a flawless Christ who embraces our flaws. The Church is not made up of whole people, rather of the broken people who find wholeness in a Christ who was broken for us."

Romans 1:5-7

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5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 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. ~ Romans 1:5-7

Today, we return to our study of the epistle written by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome. As we have stated before, the theme of Romans is the availability of the righteousness of God to everyone who believes the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The thesis and the outline for Romans reveals the purpose of the book. The thesis is found in Romans 1:16-17. And, the outline is: Chapters 1-3 are about the sinful condition of man. Chapters 4-5 are about salvation. Chapters 6-8 are about sanctification. Chapters 9-11 are about the sovereignty of God, and chapters 12-16 are about service. The last section of this epistle reveals the ultimate point to the book: a life of service to God and to others.

In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ."

Through Christ we have received the grace of God which includes not only His favor, but also His daily involvement in our lives. As a result, we have also been called to the mission of sharing the gospel with all who will listen. The word "apostleship" literally means "sent with a message." Believers in Christ have been saved from the consequences of our sins to be sent with the message of the good news that our sins have been paid for eternally.

When we came to believe in Christ, we affirmed our faith in the God of the Bible. When we really believe the gospel we will be defined by it to some extent on a daily basis. No one has ever been made right before God through obedience, but, our obedience is evidence that we have entered into a personal  relationship with God.   

When we came to faith in Christ, we went out of unbelief into faith in Him, out of the darkness spiritually and into His light. We came out of a life of separation from the God of the Bible into a life of relationship with Him. The gospel is best delivered to and more quickly believed by others when we share it out of the context of our daily relationship with Him.  

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "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."

Here we have three great truths about our privileges as believers in Christ. And, these three great truths particularly aid us in the call of God upon all of our lives to share the gospel message with all who would listen to us. In doing this, we serve them in the greatest possible way because the gospel impacts their eternity. And, if we are not convinced of the veracity of the Lord Jesus and His gospel, we will not share this most important message with others. 

The three great truths in v.7 are: We are beloved of God, we are called of God, and, we are saints. These are the privileges of the gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. No longer do we fear death because our sins have been forgiven us.

To be the "beloved of God" means we are loved by God. According to Ephesians 2:4, He loved us even when we were dead in sin. According to Ephesians 1:6 God can give His love to us and we can access it because His Son died for us. And so, the privilege of the good news is that we are loved by God. God loves everyone, but not everyone has access to His love. It is only through believing the gospel do we have access to God's love.

The second privilege of the gospel is that "we are called of God." This word "called" means the specific message issued by God to follow Him. In John 10:27, the Lord Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow." In tandem with the Holy Spirit God called us into relationship with Himself and by His grace we heard and did not turn away. As a result, we now enjoy a personal relationship with Him. Through the daily experience of relating with God, learning to talk to Him and learning to hear Him respond, we are positioned to serve others best by sharing the gospel couched in the story that God is giving us with Him.

The third privilege of the gospel is that "we are saints." By virtue of being loved by God, and, by virtue of being called by God, we have been made saints through the Lord Jesus. This means we have been made holy or perfect in the eyes of God through His Son. When God looks at us, having trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, He sees us through the lens of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This transaction has taken place due to the fact that we have come to trust in the Son's work on the cross on our behalf. And, as a result, we have been set apart to serve God and others. This is the ultimate theme of this book.

Romans 1:2-4

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1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ Romans 1:1-4

Today, we continue our study of Romans 1. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans from the city of Corinth. He wrote this letter in order to provide for his readers the theology needed to live the life God has called us to, best. 

In the truest sense of the word, Christianity is not a religion because religion is man trying to earn God's favor which is an impossibility. This is why the Lord Jesus had to come to earth and live a perfect life and die a perfect death. In going to the cross, the Lord Jesus had to take the punishment from God for that which had separated us from God. We were unable to endure the wrath of God due to our sinfulness.

So, Christianity is a personal relationship with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why He went to the cross, to open the access point to God to sinful man. This relationship requires of us nothing to get us into heaven in the future, but, it requires a lot of us now in order to get heaven into us now.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures."

The Lord Jesus Christ was many years before promised to us; He came as predicted by God in the Old Testament. In fact, there are at least 324 different prophecies in the Old Testament that He fulfilled. And, the likelihood that He would fulfill those many prophecies is way beyond human comprehension! 

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David."

The Lord Jesus was a descendant of Israel's King David which emphasizes the humanity of the Lord Jesus. As the Son of God, He was conceived in the virgin's womb by the Holy Spirit. This was how He could share the nature of God with that of man. 

God had to come as a man in order to die on the behalf of sinful man. When we break the laws of society in which we live, we lose the right to move about freely in that society, among the people who abide by its laws. The Lord Jesus was arrested and made to pay for our crimes in order to “pay our debt to God.” 

The Lord Jesus came to earth because we could not pay our debt to God. When we broke God’s laws, we lost the right to associate freely with Him. God is perfect in every way, and our sinfulness has separated us from Him. This debt had to be paid in full. According to 1 Kings 20:42, in order to set us free who were supposed to die, somebody had to take our punishment. That someone was and is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

The Lord Jesus Christ came by "the Spirit of holiness" which means when He came to this earth He came as a whole person, He came to demonstrate what it looks like to be holy or whole. The glory of the good news is that God's goal for us is to make us whole, so that we can handle life with all of its pressures and troubles.

At the root of our problem is our sin which undermined our perfection or wholeness. This loss of our wholeness is what made us selfish. It is our lack of wholeness that made us inadequate to do and to be according to God's perfection. This lack is in its essence, covetousness.

This is also why the Lord Jesus came "in power by his resurrection from the dead." The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest evidence that He is the Messiah and this is where our faith ultimately rests its hope. We can have confidence that God has told us the truth by the unshakable fact that He raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Through His resurrection, Christ conquered the penalty and power of our sin and covetousness. As a result of believing in Him, we do not have to obey sin. He through His death, burial and resurrection overcame death on the behalf of anyone who will simply believe on Him and His life-giving work on the cross. 

Romans 1:1

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Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. ~ Romans 1:1   

Today, we begin a new study on the book of Romans. The Church in Rome had its beginning in Jerusalem when some Jews who lived in Rome were on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. While in Jerusalem to worship, these people heard the sermon that the Apostle Peter preached in Acts 2. As a result, they trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus and became followers of Christ. Later, when they returned to Rome, they started meeting as believers in the Lord Jesus.

The most often words used in Romans are “God,” used 153 times, the word “law,” used 72 times, the word “Christ” used 65 times, the word “sin” used 48 times, the word “Lord” used 43 times and the word “faith” used 40 times. It is rather easy when we are studying a book of the Bible to determine the themes of the book by identifying the repeatedly used words therein.

So, Romans is about God, His law, Christ, sin, the Lord, faith and all the ramifications of those terms. The thesis statement is in Romans 1:16-17 which reads in the Message translation:

“It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.” 

In our passage for today, the Apostle Paul ended the verse with "... separated to the gospel of God."

Christianity is not a religion because religion is man trying to earn God's favor, which is impossible to do. The Lord Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life and to die a perfect death on the behalf of mankind. He did this because we could not be good enough to earn God's favor. On the cross the Lord Jesus was punished for our sin which had separated us from God. "A Christian is not someone who is good, he is someone who has experienced the goodness of God." This is what it means to be separated to the gospel or "good news" of God. It means that we have the Gospel in such close view that it defines us daily. I like what one preacher once said, "I must live so close to the cross of Christ that I get splinters in my nose."

The Book of Romans has five divisions: Chapters 1-3 are about the sinful condition of man. Chapters 4-5 are about salvation. Chapters 6-8 are about the sanctification of the believer in Christ. Chapters 9-11 are about the sovereignty of God. And, chapters 12-16 are about the service of the believer.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God."

The initial description the Apostle Paul gives us in today's passage is he was a bondservant of Jesus Christ. A bondservant is a slave. The Greek word "doulos" means “one who is subservient to, and entirely at the disposal of his master.” In Roman times, the term bondservant referred to one who was held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner’s personal property and he had no rights of his own. We chose to be a bondservant.

Like us, the Apostle Paul learned that being a bondservant of Christ is not a duty. It is rather an act of devotion because the Lord Jesus has delivered us from the eternal clutches of Hell itself through His sacrifice made on our behalf on the cross. 

After identifying himself as a bondservant, Paul referred to himself as an apostle. The Greek word used for "apostle" means one sent on a mission. Now, even though I believe there are no modern day apostles like Paul, one of the twelve, I believe that God has called all believers in Christ to mission. This mission varies each day, but each mission has one commonality: a personal relationship with God and loving on people. 

Now, there are three elements involved in being called by God. The first element is that we are consciously defined by Him in a given day. It is essential that we are in the Word of God every day, learning His thoughts and culture. More important is this: that God's word is in us, defining our thoughts and choices for that day. Think of it: Before Abraham was a Jew, he was a Gentile. He was from Southern Iraq. That which made him a Jew was God's definition of him. Abraham embraced the culture of God and that made him a Jew.

The second element involved in being called by God is that we receive a story with Him that He gives us each day. As God speaks into our lives and we respond by faith in obedience, we will receive the narrative and that will lead us to the third element involved in our calling for that day. 

The third element comes through our involvement in the lives of the people who God brings into our lives. Through those interactions, we directly and indirectly share how God has and is working in and through our lives. It is fairly simple, but we must be diligent to ask God to give us the sensitivity of heart and mind as we share the gospel and our story with God with others. We never want to shove God down someone's throat. We want to share with them as He does to us, patiently and respectfully. There have been many days that I have not spoken of God with a person. And then the next day, I discovered that they were ready to hear about God. My policy is to wait for the opportunity as they open the door for these conversations.

Let me close with a true story from my life that illustrates my point on calling. It was the year 2010 and I was at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Nebraska with two of my sons. In the early innings of the first game of the three game series between South Carolina and UCLA, I heard a guy behind me yelling his lungs out, rooting for South Carolina. Playfully, I yelled at him that USC would choke. I didn't know it but the guy was offended and had planned to fight me after the game. To make a long story short that guy and I are now best of friends. I did not immediately share my faith with him. In fact, I waited for him to bring God up in our conversations. Three days later, he did just that. And, well, many years later he is a man on mission.