Compassed About Me

Prayer Optional?

This verse has been making the rounds lately as a 'prayer' for the President:

Psa 109:8  May his days be few!

    May another take his job!

Not only is this kind of thing un-American [there's an election every 4 years...exercise your right to vote and learn how to be mature when your side loses] but it is incredibly un-Christian.  To whit:

Mat 5:43 Love for Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor'52 and 'hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and53 pray for those who persecute you,
Mat 5:45 so that you may be like54 your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors55 do the same, don't they?
Mat 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don't they?
Mat 5:48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.56

Rom 13:1 Submission to Civil Government

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment,1 and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
Rom 13:2 So the person who resists such authority2 resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment
Rom 13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation,
Rom 13:4 for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.
Rom 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities3 but also because of your conscience.4

Rom 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities5 are God's servants devoted to governing.6

Rom 13:7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Believe me, I think my fellow citizens who voted for Obama made a colossal mistake, but the [mis]use of this verse could not be more antithetical to what Jesus teaches us.  

Chris

Because...

Just because you don't understand it doesn't give you the right to question it because God never makes mistakes.

It's all about GRACE. God owes man nothing and if He chooses to bestow His Grace on man, then: how, when, where, and why: are completely at His discretion.


Rom 12:1 Consecration of the Believer's Life

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God2 — which is your reasonable service.


THEREFORE is a big word, isn't it? When Paul says 'therefore' he is really saying that all those things he just got through talking about are not just theological abstracts.

Not at all.

They are the basis for something practical.  But first...

I would say that Paul is not simply drawing a conclusion from 11:36 or 11:33-36 nor from chapter 11 but rather the first 11 chapters of the letter!

BECAUSE God has consigned all to disobedience to have mercy on all...

BECAUSE God grafts and cuts out branches from His Root as He has seen fit to do...

BECAUSE God has reserved for Himself a remnant...

BECAUSE God has not cast off the Jews...

BECAUSE everyone, even the stubborn Jews, who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved...

BECAUSE the Righteousness that comes from God is better than the righteousness the Jews [and man] seeks to make...

BECAUSE the Jews are responsible for their own situation...

BECAUSE in order to save the Gentiles God has made the Jews vessels of wrath and they therefore rejected Christ...

BECAUSE the Potter has the right to make objects as He sees fit...

BECAUSE Mose was chosen and Pharoah hardened...

BECAUSE Jacob was chosen over Esau...

BECAUSE Isaac was chosen over Ishmael...

BECAUSE being a part of True Israel is not conditioned on one's physical descent but of God's mercy

BECAUSE Paul is heartbroken over the Jews rejection of Christ...

BECAUSE Nothing can separate us from the Love of God...

BECAUSE those He predestines He calls and those He calls He justifies and those He justifies He glorifies...

BECAUSE we have hope through the life of the Spirit....

BECAUSE we are adopted Sons of God...

BECAUSE there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God2 — which is your reasonable service.


Well, I think you get the picture...I only went back to Romans 8, but the chain reaches all the way back to 1:1.

Chris

The Creator

God chose Jacob over Esau despite the fact that Esau should have gotten the blessing AND despite the fact that God didn't wait to see if Jacob was good enough to get the blessing nor did He wait to see if Esau deserved His condemnation. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

Why?

You'll see....


Rom 9:15 For he says to Moses: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."29

The idea is simple: God, as CREATOR, has the absolute right to do what He desires with His CREATION.

This is not to say that God would do something sinful, since He always acts in accord with His perfect character.

The situation is this: ALL men are sinners and deserving of Hell. It's as simple as that. IF God desires to extend mercy and grace to some then that is His perogative and we are in no position to question that.

Chris

Unfair?

Paul's gives these two examples to show His freedom in choosing whomever He wants for salvation.

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

Here is the plain answer to everyone who thinks it is 'unfair' of God to choose as He does.

God chose Abraham out of the mass of humanity to be the forerunner of His people. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

God chose Isaac over Ishmael to carry on Abraham's seed. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

God chose Jacob over Esau despite the fact that Esau should have gotten the blessing AND despite the fact that God didn't wait to see if Jacob was good enough to get the blessing nor did He wait to see if Esau deserved His condemnation. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

Why?

You'll see....

Chris

Two Examples Are Better Than One...

Just in case some might not get the point, Paul moves next to the birth of Jacob and Esau, in order to show that God does not choose whom to save simply by lineage, but by His will alone.

Rom 9:10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,22 our ancestor Isaac —
Rom 9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election23 would stand, not by works but by24 his calling)25 —
Rom 9:12 26 it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger,"27
Rom 9:13 just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."28

Although it is clear that God chose Isaac over Ishmael because only Isaac was the child of the PROMISE, Paul presents another case of God's choosing. Why does he do this?

Well, the short answer is: It's a good example, but the real answer: it answers the doubter's questions concerning Isaac. After all, while it is true that God chose Isaac, those who want to mitigate this truth can always cloud the issue by saying that, of COURSE God chose Isaac over Ishmael because Isaac is a LEGITIMATE son and Ishmael is not. Therefore, having only one TRUE son, there is really no choice to be made at all.

The example of Jacob and Esau takes care of this argument, being that they are twins, and also advances it another step when God chooses Jacob over Esau despite the fact that, according to the flesh, Esau should be the one receiving His blessing. One thing overlooked by many people here is that this blessing is, in and of itself, an example of God's sovereignty, since He is the one who decides, according to the example of Isaac, who is born and in what order. THIS fact alone shows that God chooses based on His foreknowledge and not based on anything good or bad found in a child or children. However, in order that it should be shown that God can bestow His mercy on ANYONE He chooses, without regard to their status in the FLESH, He chose Jacob. God therefore set the precedent that He is FREE to choose whomever He wants.

The only remaining question is: For What?

Some people believe this choice is just for temporal blessings, but this interpretation completely ignores the context established at the beginning of the chapter, where Paul speaks of the Israelites being accursed, cut off from Christ. This 'choosing' is a SALVATION issue, plain and simple.

Therefore, when Paul says of God, "Jacob I loved but Esau I hated" the meaning is clear. Jacob has been chosen for salvation, while Esau is not, based on nothing more than God's will.

God's will chose Isaac. God's will chose Jacob.

Paul's gives these two examples to show His freedom in choosing whomever He wants for salvation.

Chris

Children of Promise

It was ALWAYS this way

From the day God chose Abraham.

Rom 9:7 nor are all the children Abraham's true descendants; rather "through Isaac will your descendants be counted."16
Rom 9:8 This means17 it is not the children of the flesh18 who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.
Rom 9:9 For this is what the promise declared:19 "About a year from now 20 I will return and Sarah will have a son."21

Paul echoes Romans 7 here in speaking of the 'children of the flesh' and 'children of the promise', or, really, 'children of the Spirit'. That is to say, children born FROM ABOVE, as Jesus told Nicodemus.

This is what Isaac was, for his birth was supernatural in that both Abraham and Sarah were of a very advance age and could no longer NATURALLY conceive children. In fact, if you remember, Sarah LAUGHED when she heard the news! Abraham, of course, had faith in God:

Heb 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,12 he received the ability to procreate,13 because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.
Heb 11:12 So in fact children14 were fathered by one man — and this one as good as dead — like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand 15 on the seashore.16

...but here's the point:

God's promise to Abraham was not contingent upon Abraham doing a thing. In fact, God didn't even ask, did He? He simply stated that Isaac would be born.

Now, we all know what happened previously when Abraham tried to MAKE God's plan happen, don't we? He failed and only fathered a child of the flesh, Ishmael, who had no spiritual inheritance.

Therefore, this time, Abraham simply believed God and a year later the prophecy came to pass.

Isaac was born because of the will of God. Paul uses his birth as an illustration of divine sovereignty. Even when it appears there is no hope of a birth: God can and does choose to intervene and cause one to happen.

Just in case some might not get the point, Paul moves next to the birth of Jacob and Esau, in order to show that God does not choose whom to save simply by lineage, but by His will alone.

Chris

True Israel...

This is very serious, for if we even consider the 'righeousness of God', even for a moment, then we must conclude that unless there is a VERY GOOD reason God has abandoned His people, then we would be forced to conclude that He is not trustworthy and therefore a God not worth following.

Fortunately, Paul provides this VERY GOOD reason in the next verse:

Rom 9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,15

I'm tired tonight so I will just draw two conclusions from this verse:

First, there are TWO Israels...

One is Jewish and IN Christ

The other is Jewish and CUT OFF from Christ

Second... despite all of the talk of Israel being a CHOSEN PEOPLE...

It was ALWAYS this way

From the day God chose Abraham.

Chris

The Amplification of Justification...

The Amplification of Justification

The Amplification of Justification...this is the heading the NET Bible assigns to this passage.

I like it. 

But that's not the point I want to make. 

The question before us is simple but the answer can be elusive:

How is it that we are all sinners? 

Paul, very painstakingly, tells us why:

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people13 because14 all sinned —
Rom 5:13 for before the law was given,15 sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin16 when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type17 of the coming one) transgressed.18
Rom 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression.19 For if the many died through the transgression of the one man,20 how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!
Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned.21 For judgment, resulting from the one transgression,22 led to condemnation, but23 the gracious gift from the many failures24 led to justification.
Rom 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man,25 death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:18 Consequently,26 just as condemnation27 for all people28 came29 through one transgression,30 so too through the one righteous act31 came righteousness leading to life32 for all people.
Rom 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man33 many34 were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man35 many36 will be made righteous.
Rom 5:20 Now the law came in37 so that the transgression38 may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,
Rom 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul, here in one of the high points of his letter to the Romans, gives us the answer.

FIVE times.

To recap:

Sin entered the world through one man.
Many died through the transgressions of one man.
Judgment, resulting from one transgression, led to condemnation.
By the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one.
Condemnation for all people came through one transgression.
Through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners.

Seems pretty darn clear to me. I find Paul's clarity refreshing. 

Here, though, is the point:

By establishing the principle that sin to me by the one man, Paul establishes that RIGHTEOUSNESS can come to me by one man.

Praise God!

Chris

What About the Israelites?

To get some context for Romans 9 we must first look at this verse from Romans 1:

Rom 1:16 The Power of the Gospel

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.34

One of the main [unspoken] questions Paul is answering in Romans 9 is this:

Is Romans 1:16 true? Has the Gospel, God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, come to the Jews?

Obviously, it has come to the Gentiles, Paul is a witness to that. He is the Apostle who has been God's instrument in making that happen.

But what about the Jews?

Paul opens Romans 9 this way:

Rom 9:1 Israel's Rejection Considered

1 I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me2 in the Holy Spirit —
Rom 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.3
Rom 9:3 For I could wish4 that I myself were accursed — cut off from Christ — for the sake of my people,5 my fellow countrymen,6
Rom 9:4 who are Israelites...

I'm sure what Paul is saying is clear to most everyone, but let's go ahead and be clear:

Paul is IN Christ,

the Jews are accursed, cut off from Christ.

This bothers Paul to such an extent that he says he could wish that their places were reversed!

[As an aside, there was another man who felt this way, but unlike Paul, he didn't just wish it, he did something about it.

His name is Jesus.]

So, what Paul is saying is that, at least to an overwhelming extent, because he refers to them as a group, that the Gospel has NOT come to the Israelites and therefore it would appear the Gospel is powerless.

And one more thing, and it's big:

Romans 9:4 ...To them belong7 the adoption as sons,8 the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,9 and the promises. Rom 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs,10 and from them,11 by human descent,12 came the Christ,13 who is God over all, blessed forever!14 Amen.

God appears to have turned His back on His supposedly 'chosen people'!

God appears to have renounced His promises.

This is very serious, for if we even consider the 'righeousness of God', even for a moment, then we must conclude that unless there is a VERY GOOD reason God has abandoned His people, then we would be forced to conclude that He is not trustworthy and therefore a God not worth following.

Chris

The Righteousness of God...

What is it?

Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to answer.

So...what is it?

What is the "Righteousness of God"? 

Rather than go the the dictionary, which in this case is a fruitless endevour, because it only defines "righteousness" in other terms that themselves would need to be properly defined, lets go back to v17, where Paul says that:

For in it [the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

What are some other things in Romans 1 that God reveals, and delivers, in Romans 1?

Rom 1:1  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

God reveals and delivers:

His calling
His people
His promises
His Son
His grace
His plan
His love
His impartiality
His judgment
His eternal power
His divine glory

That is quite a list! 

I was going to try to ask some leading questions but I think that I'll just lay out where I am going with this right now:

If the Gospel is God's final solution to the unrighteousness of man and

If the Gospel reveals and delivers His righteousness and

If therefore we can conclude then that His righteousness is at the core of who God is because He would not waste His time revealing or delivering anything less than THE MOST IMPORTANT and NECESSARY thing to us, then:

Everything in this list above must have it's source and flow directly from His Righteousness.  All of these things are but aspects of the overarching theme and that collectively they DEFINE what RIGHTEOUSNESS IS. 

Please note that in regards to His Son, I am not saying that His Son is in any way created by the Father.  What I am referring to is God's decision to send His Son as the Saviour.

All that remains, then, is to test, test, and test some more, to read Scripture, and decide if this statement is valid. 

I think it is.

Next:  The Personification of Righteousness...

Come, get "Gospeled" Again!

Rom 1:15  So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

I was looking at that verse and it suddenly hit me:

Why in the world would Paul feel the intense need to go to a Church [and yes, "you" clearly means the saints in Rome], whose faith is being proclaimed all over the world, and preach the Gospel to them? 

Doesn't the text imply that, since the Gospel is for the "salvation of everyone who believes" that all of these people have and understand the Gospel already?  I mean, there's no such thing as an unsaved Saint, right?

Wouldn't that make Paul's mission a little redundant?

It would if you think that the Gospel is merely meant to inspire a salvation experience and that same experience is a one time event. 

If you are of that mind, and I'm not going to criticize you if you are, for you are absolutely right as far as this line of thinking goes, then this verse is here to change your way of thinking.

Paul, here, is properly defining what salvation is:  It is indeed a one time event, for you can only be saved once.  But it is MORE than that.  It is a one time event that has a beginning but stretches out forward in time into eternity.  Therefore, when Paul talks about being eager to preach the Gospel to those who have already been saved, there must be a sense in which those who ARE saved are also in some kind of process of BEING saved and the Gospel is the means by which, someday, they will finally and completely BE saved.

I think this verse will help shed light on the situation:

Php 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
Php 2:13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

It is simple:  As the Gospel is preached, as the righteousness of God is revealed [remember that the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God?] again and again, God works IN us in order that we might work OUT our salvation, being conformed more and more to the image of His Son.

This is why Paul is so eager to go to the Romans and preach the Gospel.

Chris

The Present...

Rom 1:16,17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

What Paul is saying here is simple yet profound:

If the Gospel is the package, then the righteousness of God is the gift inside.  The Gospel is the means by which the righteousness of God is delivered.

Now all that remains is to figure out what Paul means by "the righteousness of God"!

Chris

Silent Partner...

Rom 1:7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is only one way to truly know if:

You are loved by God
You are called to be a saint
You have received Grace
You have peace...

It is the Silent Partner of the Trinity.  The One who NEVER calls attention to Himself.  The One who lives only deliver God's full measure of grace and mercy to His people:

He is the Holy Spirit.

In the Letter to the Romans, though, we do find out a lot about Him, and how important He is to our lives.  To find out just how important, take a look at Romans 8 and see how many times He is mentioned.  You might be surprised...

Chris

The Bridge...

Rom 1:3  concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
Rom 1:4  and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Paul employs some interesting phraseology in verses 3 and 4.  Here's how I want to look at it:

...his Son----->descended from David according to the flesh
...Son of God-------->in power according to the spirit of Holiness
...resurrection from the dead---------->Jesus Christ our Lord

Unfortunately, as tidy as that looks, it's not quite right, either thematically or grammatically, for in actuality, the Title: Jesus Christ our Lord, sums up ALL THREE ideas, of which the resurrection from the dead is the capstone example. 

So, in essence, the resurrection from the dead does indeed further the description of the "Son of God" while at the same time providing the preeminent foundation of Jesus Christ's Lordship over all!  The Resurrection is the bridge that brings us from the point of:

Understanding Jesus as a man to understanding Jesus as God.

Understanding Jesus as sacrifice to understanding Jesus as Saviour.

Understanding Jesus as servant to understanding Jesus as LORD.

Chris

Addition by Substitution...

Rom [1:1]  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the the [1:16]power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

When Christopher and I sit down to do word problems in Algebra, I always reinforce the mathematical meaning of words. 

For example, the word "is" [and there is no debate about this!] means "equals" or "is equal to".  So, when Paul says, in Rom 1:16,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

then I know that wherever in the New Testament I see the word "Gospel" I can substitute in the phrase "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. "

I think doing this really clarifies what Paul is really saying in Verse 1, don't you? 

Let's try a few more verses:

Mar 1:14  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Mar 1:15  and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Mark 13:10  And the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. must first be proclaimed to all nations.

2Co 11:4  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Take your time and find the other verses in your NT where the word "Gospel" occurs.  There are plenty more.

Chris

Prime Mover...

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think there is a tendency, and I know that I have been guilty of this, of glossing over the introduction section of the various epistles of the New Testament in order to get to the "good stuff".  But, as I'm sure you can see here, it is vital that we not do so but rather linger here for a bit in order to see that, without the firm foundation Paul lays here, the "good stuff" that comes later loses much of its significance, for we see that Paul isn't simply writing about something he has heard from God, but he is writing about something that he is living.  It is this binding of scriptural truth and experience that makes the letter important. 

Paul is drawing a parallel here.  Just as Jesus' status was confirmed, as recounted here in the introduction, by what He did, so is Paul's.  And, therefore, so is ours. 

The most important idea presented, though, is not that that this happens.  The most important idea is the reason WHY this happens, and it is a thread that runs through the letter.  It is:

All things happens because God wills it.  God calls, God sets apart, God promises.  God does what is necessary to bring about these things for His Name's Sake.  Without Him nothing good happens, good being defined as something that originates in Him. 

If we look at the rest of the letter, it is easy to see why this is so crucial, for what if God had not presented Jesus as an atonement for sin? [Romans 3:21-26]  What if he had not called Abraham [Romans 4]  What if he had not chosen Jacob? [Romans 9]. 

There would be no Good News.  There would be no Kingdom.  We would be lost and condemned. 

I, for one, am exceedingly glad God acted.

Chris

Street Cred...

...gospel of God...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Is Jesus qualified?

You bet!

Each of these three ideas are important, and each further narrows the field of potential Messiahs. 

Yes, Jesus was the son of David, but there were many other sons of David. 

Yes, Jesus lived a righteous life and did miracles according to the Spirit, but there were others who did such things, and, who knows, they so might also have been sons of David.

And Yes, Jesus did rise from the dead but there were others who...oh, that's right, no one ever did do that, did they?

The resurrection is what separates Jesus from all the pretenders, for the resurrection proves He approved of by God.

Chris

A Picture is Worth...[More on Romans]

This is a picture of the Mississippi River Delta. 

This is also often a picture of Paul's thought process.

Every divergent stream is important...just don't let them divert you from his main point.

Chris

Breaking It Down

Paul,

a servant of Christ Jesus,

called to be an apostle,

set apart for the gospel of God,

which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

concerning his Son,

who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

through whom we have received grace and apostleship

to bring about the obedience of faith

for the sake of his name among all the nations,

including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

It's been too long since I took Grammar! 

As you can see, Paul had a very complex writing style.  Therefore I thought it would be good to break down these first six verses of Romans, since they are so foundational to the rest of the letter.

First:  Paul, called to be an apostle.  Easy enough, right?

Second, the main idea in clauses, which all fit right together: 

A servant of Jesus Christ, set apart for the Gospel of God, Concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

The last phrase is the climax of the introduction. 

The other phrases are all descriptive in one way or another of the main ideas contained in the previous clauses. 

I hope this makes it easier for you so see what Paul is driving at.

Chris

Scriptural Application 101

Rom 1:1  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

INSERT YOUR NAME HERE, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an INSERT YOUR CALLING HERE, set apart for the gospel of God,

Get it?

Chris

Undone...

Rom 5:19  For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

I was thinking about the Gospel of John this morning on the way to work.  In particular I was considering these two verses:

Gen 1:1  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In the Beginning...

One man was created...and sinned....and was cast out....separated from God.  BUT

In the Beginning...

God purposed that One man would come...and not sin...and UNDO the damage the first man had done.

I think a good way to look at John's gospel is from this perspective:

John's gospel [all the Gospels, actually] are an account of how Jesus undid what Adam did. 

Have you ever thought that in following Jesus, we are experiencing that very thing?

Chris

All Israel?

Rom 11:25  Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Rom 11:26  And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

This topic came up in Church this morning and I wanted to share my view concerning it.

Who does Paul have in mind when he says "ALL ISRAEL" shall be saved?

First of all, I think it would be good to knock down the most literal reading possible, that ALL ISRAEL means every single ethnic Jew who ever lived.  First, there is this:

Rom 9:6  But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
Rom 9:7  and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."

What has Paul done, here?  He has made a very important distinction:  There is a physical Israel and a spiritual Israel.  Therefore, it is not possible to conclude that every Jew past/present/future will be saved.

Now look at this:

Rom 11:2  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
Rom 11:3  "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life."
Rom 11:4  But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
Rom 11:5  So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

The 7,000 that God foreknew were the ones descended from Israel that actually belonged to Israel. They were spiritual Israel. The rest of the Nation of Israel at the time were the ones who were descended of Israel who nevertheless did not belong to Israel.  They were physical Israel. 

Who is Spiritual Israel, anyway?  It is this:

Eph 3:4  When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
Eph 3:5  which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Eph 3:6  This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Spiritual Israel, then, is made up of all people, Jew and Gentile, who believe in Jesus Christ.  ALL the promises of God to Israel now belong to the Church and the Kingdom of God and there is no more any difference between Jew and Gentile. 

What about physical Israel, then?  Well, Paul says they are now partially hardened against the Gospel until the full number of Gentiles have come in.  So, now, there are Gentiles and some Jews who are coming into the Church and the Kingdom.  Someday, in the future, when the appointed number of Gentiles [that is to say, the number of Gentiles God foreknew, just as he foreknew the 7,000 He told Elijah about] has entered the Kingdom, then God will remove the partial hardening and the remainder of the Jews that God foreknows will be saved.  They will become a part of the Church and the Kingdom just as all those Gentiles and other Jews before them did.  When this happens, then, the full number of Jews who were to be saved will be saved.  Then the total number of Jews AND Gentiles will be saved. 

Therefore, ALL ISRAEL will be saved. 

One thing I want to make clear is that I don't believe that this viewpoint precludes God's special use of the Jews in the end times, nor does it preclude the existence of or the importance of the ethnic nation of Israel.  It's just that Paul's concern in Romans 9-11 is primarily directed at justifying God's actions in regards to Israel and to show that being Jewish, while certainly an advantage [due to God's direct revelation to them as a nation] has NEVER been the reason why anyone has ever been saved.  People are saved because God saves them.  It is His perogative and He does so guided only by the counsel of His will. 

Who are we to judge Him concerning this?

Chris

Romans from God's Perspective 7

Chapter 7

Do you not know, my children--for I am speaking to men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

So, my children, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to Me. For when you were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in your bodies, so that you bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, you have been released from the law so that you serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

What shall you say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed you would not have known what sin was except through the law. For you would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in you every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once you were alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and you died. You have found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived you, and through the commandment put you to death.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to you? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in you through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. You should know that the law is spiritual; but you are unspiritual, sold as a slaves to sin. You do not understand what you do. For what you want to do you do not do, but what you hate you do. And if you do what you do not want to do, you agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer you who do it, but it is sin living in you.

You know that nothing good lives in you, that is, in your sinful nature. For you have the desire to do what is good, but you cannot carry it out. For what you do is not the good you want to do; no, the evil you do not want to do--this you keep on doing. Now if you do what you do not want to do, it is no longer you who do it, but it is sin living in you that does it.

So you find this law at work: When you want to do good, evil is right there with you. For in your my inner being you delight in My law; but you see another law at work in the members of your body, waging war against the law of your mind and making you a prisoner of the law of sin at work within your members. What a wretched man you are!

Who will rescue you from this body of death?

Thanks be to Me--through Jesus Christ your Lord! So then, you yourself in your mind are a slave to My law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans from God's Perspective 5

Chapter 5

Therefore, since you have been justified through faith, you have peace with Me through My Son, your Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you have gained access by faith into this grace in which you now stand.

And you should rejoice in the hope of My glory. Not only so, but you should also rejoice in your sufferings, because you should know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint you, because I have poured out My love into your hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom I have given you.

You see, at just the right time, when you were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But I demonstrated my own love for you in this: While you were still sinners, Christ died for you!

Since you have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall you be saved from My wrath through Him! For if, when you were My enemies, you were reconciled to me through the death of My Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall you be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but you should also rejoice in Me through your Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did My grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the My gift is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive My abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ your Lord.

Romans from God's Perspective 4

Chapter 4

What then shall I say that Abraham, your forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before Me. What does the Scripture say?

"Abraham believed Me, and I credited to him as righteousness."

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts in Me who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

I said the same thing through David when he spoke of the blessedness of the man to whom I credit righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the I will never count against him."

Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? I have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.

So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of you all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is your father in the sight of Me, in whom he believed--I give life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were!

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding My promise , but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to Me, being fully persuaded that I had power to do what I had promised.

This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for you, to whom I will credit righteousness--for you who believe in Me who raised Jesus your Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for your sins and was raised to life for your justification.

Romans 3: From God's Perspective...

Chapter 3

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the My words. What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify My faithfulness? Not at all! Let Me be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."

But if your unrighteousness brings out My righteousness more clearly, what do you say? That I am unjust in bringing My wrath on you? (What a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could I judge the world? Some of you might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner? Why not say--as my children are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that they say--" Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.

What shall you conclude then? Are you any better ? Not at all! I have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:

"There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one of you who understands, not one of you who seeks Me.

All of you have turned away, you have together become worthless;

there is not one of you who does good, not even one."

"Your throats are open graves; Your tongues practice deceit."

"The poison of vipers is on your lips."

"Your mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."

"Your feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark your ways, and the way of peace you do not know."

"There is no fear of Me before your eyes."

Now you know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to Me. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in My sight by observing the law; rather, through the law you become conscious of sin.

But now a righteousness from Me, apart from law, has been made known, to which My Law and My Prophets testify. This righteousness from Me comes through faith in My Son, Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is no difference, for all of you have sinned and fall short of My glory, and are justified freely by My grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. I presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.

I did this to demonstrate My justice, because in My forbearance I had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--I did it to demonstrate My justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For I maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Am I the God of Jews only? Am I not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one I AM, and I will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Do you, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, you uphold the law.

Quotes from Barth: Epistle to the Romans...

"The wrath of God is the righteousness of God-apart from and without Christ."

Romans 2

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that My judgment against those who do such things is based on My Truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape My judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of My kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that My kindness leads you toward repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of My wrath, when My righteous judgment will be revealed. I "will give to each person according to what he has done." If you by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, I will give you eternal life. But if you are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

There will be trouble and distress for every one of you who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for you who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For I do not show favoritism. If you sin apart from the law you will also perish apart from the law, and if you sin under the law you will be judged by the law. For it is not you who hear the law who are righteous in My sight, but it is you who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that I have written the requirements of the law on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when I will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as My gospel declares.

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to Me; if you know My will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth--you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor Me by breaking the law? As it is written: "My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If you are not circumcised but keep the law's requirements, will you not be regarded as though you are circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. You are not a Jew if you are is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, you are a Jew if you are one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Your praise is not from men, but from Me!

Romans From God's Perspective: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Through Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called by Me to be an apostle and set apart for My Gospel—the Gospel I promised beforehand through My prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding My Son, who as to His human nature was a descendent of David, who through My Spirit of holiness was declared to be My Son by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ your Lord. Through Him and for His name’s sake, you received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by Me and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from Me and from my Son, Jesus Christ. First, Paul is very thankful to Me through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. He serves me with his whole heart in preaching the Gospel of My Son, and He constantly remembers you in his prayers to Me at all times; and he prays that at last that I will open the way for him to come to you. He longs to see you so that he may impart some spiritual gift to make you strong—That is, that all of you may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Do no be unaware, my children, that Paul had planned many times to come to you (but had been prevented from doing so until now) in order that he might have a harvest among you, just as he has had among the other Gentiles. He feels obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and foolish. That is why he is so eager to preach the Gospel also to you who are in Rome. He is not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is My power for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel My righteousness is revealed, a righteousness that by faith from first to last, just as I have written: "The righteous will live by faith".

My wrath is being revealed to you from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of you who suppress the truth by your wickedness. Since what may be known about Me is plain to you, because I have made it plain to you! For since the creation of the world My invisible qualities—my eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that you are without excuse. For although you knew Me, you neither glorified Me or gave thanks to Me, but your thinking became futile and your foolish hearts were darkened. Although you claimed to be wise, you became fools. And exchanged My immortal glory for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore I gave you over to the sinful desires of your hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of your bodies with one another. You exchanged My Truth for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than Me, the Creator—only I am to be forever praised! Amen. Because of this, I gave you over to shameful lusts. Even your women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way you men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. You committed indecent acts with other men, and received in yourselves the due penalty for your perversion. Furthermore, since you did not think it worthwhile to retain knowledge of Me, I gave you over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to not be done. You have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. You are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. You are gossips, slanderers, haters of Me, insolent, arrogant and boastful; you invent ways of doing evil, you disobey your parents; You are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although you know My righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, you not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.