Friday DIVE – August 15, 2024 – Review of ROMANS (1-2)

Romans 1-4: The Gospel Reveals God’s Righteousness

Paul opens by introducing himself as an apostle appointed by God to spread the Gospel about Jesus (Romans 1:1-17).  This is the message announcing that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, who was raised from the dead as the Son of God and King of the nations.  As a result, Jesus now calls all humanity to come under his loving rule.  Paul says that this good news about Jesus is  God’s power to save people who trust in him  and  that it “reveals God’s righteousness.”

For Paul, “righteousness” is a rich word from the Hebrew Scriptures that describes God’s character.  It means that God always acts in a way that is just and right and that God is faithful and just to fulfill his promises.  Paul is saying that the story of Jesus shows how God has done both of these things.

In Romans 1:18-32, Paul goes into a long, creative retelling of Genesis 3-11, showing how the Gentile world, all nations, have become trapped in a spiral of sin and selfishness.  The human heart and mind are broken.  We’ve turned away from God to embrace idolatry, finding ultimate significance in created things and giving allegiance to things that are not God.  This results in a distortion of our humanity and destructive behavior.  What’s left is a humanity that stands guilty before a just and righteous God.

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God  ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.  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.  

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.  ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.  ¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established — ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.  

¹³ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.  ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.  ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.  

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

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,  ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible  attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,  ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.   ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.  

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

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

²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,  God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;  full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,  ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,  ³¹undiscerning, 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.   

To this, Paul’s fellow Israelites might respond, “It’s a good thing God chose our people out from among the nations. He saved us out of slavery in Egypt and gave us the laws of the Torah, like observing the Sabbath, eating kosher, or circumcision.   They all show us how to live as God’s holy people.”

Paul responds, “Not so fast!”  He recalls the story of the Torah and the rest of the Old Testament, which showed that Israel was just as sinful, idolatrous, and morally broken as the rest of humanity.  In fact, Israel is actually more guilty than the Gentiles  because  they have the Torah and should know better.

2 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?  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.   

¹² For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³ (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;  ¹⁴ for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)  ¹⁶ in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.  

¹⁷ Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.  ²¹ You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?  ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery?  You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  ²³ You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?  ²⁴ For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.   

²⁵ For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.  ²⁶ Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?  ²⁷ And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?  ²⁸ For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;   ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.  

As our representative, Jesus took into himself the just consequences of all the pain, sin, and death humans have caused in the world, and he overcame it by his resurrection from the dead.  It’s Jesus’ new life that is now made available to others.  Jesus became what we are, so that we might become what he is.  All of this, Paul says, is how God justifies those who trust or have faith in Jesus.