| Chapter 1
The
Letter to the Romans---What? Where? Who? Why?
Romans 1:1-15; 15:22-32
Objectives for Chapter
1:
1. To
learn of the background and circumstances
surrounding the writing of the Letter to the
Romans.
2. To discover the apparent purposes
for the writing of Romans.
3. To become
familiar with some of the major themes and ideas
which will be encountered in the Study of Romans.
The
Letter to the Romans, or Book of Romans, has long
been widely accepted as the work of Paul the
Apostle. In vocabulary, style, teachings, and
subject matter it accords well with what we
otherwise know about Paul. Specific internal
evidence is strong; Paul is named as the author in
the first verse of the letter, and numerous
statements within it confirm Pauline authorship.
It is the longest and most theologically
comprehensive of all the New Testament writings
ascribed to Paul. Because of its approach to the
great central themes of sin, condemnation or
judgment, redemption or salvation, justification
or righteousness, faith, and hope, this book is
considered by many to be the most important
doctrinal writings of the New Testament. It is
worthy of our closest attention and best efforts
to understand.
As far
as can be ascertained, the letter to the Romans
was written while Paul was in Corinth, probably in
A. D. 57 or 58. Though Paul had not yet visited
the Christians at Rome (1:9–15), he had much
wanted to do so, and was laying plans with that
end in mind. He felt a keen sense of relationship
and concern toward the church at Rome; he
addressed them as “all God’s beloved in Rome, who
are called to be holy people.” Furthermore, he
spoke of how he thanked God for them in prayer,
and asked that he might be able to pay them a
visit.
We
might well ask, “Why would Paul—or anyone—write
such a letter or treatise to a group of people
whom he had never visited or met?” (We will,
however, see later in our study that Paul was
apparently acquainted with several individuals in
the Roman congregation.) He seems to have had
several reasons for writing to the Roman church;
these become apparent through careful study of the
letter, particularly those passages given as
background reading for this chapter. These reasons
or purposes might be summed up as follows:
1. To
prepare the people for his proposed visit. Paul
speaks of how he wants to come to them so that he
might “impart … some spiritual gift to strengthen”
them (1:11) and receive encouragement and strength
from them in return.
2. To
introduce to them his plan to go to Spain to
preach the gospel, and enlist them in the effort.
Paul says that he hopes “to see you in passing as
I go to Spain, and to be sped on my journey there
by you” (15:24), literally, “to be sent on” or
“sent forward.” It is certain that Paul hoped for
and expected the encouragement and spiritual
backing of his readers; perhaps he also had in
mind the possibility of their supporting his
venture in material ways as well. He did go to
Rome, of course, but as a prisoner, in chains.
Some early tradition raises the possibility that
Paul was released from his first imprisonment at
Rome, preached the gospel “to the farthest limits
of the west” (Spain?), and then was imprisoned
again at Rome, where he met a martyrs death. At
any rate, we know that the great apostle,
preacher, and teacher did reach Rome, and that he
maintained to the last his consuming ambition to
proclaim the good news of Christ where Jesus’ name
had not yet been known or declared as Lord and
Savior.
3.
Doctrinal or theological concerns. While Paul does
not state specifically that he writes for this
purpose, he obviously felt he needed to deal with
serious Christian teachings in this communication.
Furthermore, the questions to which he speaks in
Romans are some of the most basic and vital in all
Christian doctrine, and certainly would have been
of primary concern in a city such as Rome—the
question of sin, of the law, of idolatry and other
pagan practices, of the place of the literal Jews
and the Gentiles in God’s plan, of salvation, of
morality, and of justification or righteousness.
Paul begins to write of these matters almost at
the very beginning of the letter and continues
until nearly the end.
The
question of the literal Jews and the gospel is
especially prominent in Romans; that clarification
was certainly needed at Rome is evident from the
Acts account of Paul’s arrival and experiences
there. (See Acts 28:17–28.) This account shows
considerable resistance to the gospel on the part
of the Jewish leaders in Rome. Paul may have also
known, through reports which had reached him, of
particular difficulties which existed at the Roman
church, which was comprised of both Jewish and
non-Jewish believers. So he used this letter as an
occasion to speak to these problems. He must weld
together these persons formerly alienated from
each other by laws and traditions, now made one by
faith in Christ. Romans 16:17–18 contains a
pointed admonition regarding persons who “create
dissensions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine
which you learned.” Paul may have known of such
persons in the Roman congregation.
In the
opening verses of his letter to the church at
Rome, Paul introduces several of the themes and
ideas which are prominent throughout the letter:
the “gospel of God,” Paul’s apostleship to the
Gentiles, his broader ministry and concern for
“all men,” faith, grace, peace, salvation,
righteousness. As we read, study, and come to
understand this great inspired writing, we will
see these ideas appear again and again. Let each
of them sink into your mind and heart as never
before, and pray for the divine enlightenment of
the Holy Spirit as you learn. You will want to
keep in mind several key terms and their meanings
in Romans as you study; here are some of the most
significant:
Gospel—literally, good news
or good tidings. In Romans, primarily the good
news of redemption for all through faith in
Christ.
Grace—the unmerited,
unearned, undeserved favor or good will of God,
particularly as it was and is manifested through
Christ for salvation.
Peace—genuine inward
wholeness and confidence, obtained through being
related to the “God of peace” in Christ.
Righteousness (or
justification)—the absolute uprightness and
justness of God, and this same quality as it
appears in human experience through faith. (More
on this important concept later.)
Suggestions for Teaching:
1.
Stress the importance of each participant in the
class or study group studying the appropriate
biblical material, as well as the material in the
text, beforehand. This will return rich dividends
in the understanding of each part of Romans and in
sustaining and increasing interest, fruitful class
sessions, and personal benefit to the participant.
2.
Strive to accomplish specifically the objectives
given for each chapter, along with those which may
be indicated by individual circumstances and needs
or your own purposes in teaching the course. Reach
the objectives first for yourself, and then help
your pupils to do so.
3.
Suggest that each person give careful attention to
the study and review questions at the end of each
chapter. This will serve as a tool for
establishing a thorough understanding of the
material of that particular chapter and a test of
self-comprehension.
4. Be
sure to keep in mind the need for building the
bridges of meaning and relevance between the
situation in which and to which Romans was written
and contemporary circumstances. (Example: Just as
the gospel was given for and applied to Jews and
Gentiles alike in the first century, so it is
meaningful for all people, everywhere, in the
twentieth century.)
5. If
time permits, you may find it helpful to give
brief tests or quizzes at several intervals during
the quarter’s study. This helps you to know how
well you are leading the group into a thorough
understanding of Romans, and it helps class
members know how well they are assimilating the
material. Such tests might include some of the
questions at the end of chapters in the text, as
well as others.
6.
Both the teaching of these sessions and the
understanding of what is taught will be
facilitated and greatly increased in effectiveness
if all participants use the same New Testament
version or translation for biblical materials. The
author recommends highly either the Revised
Standard Version or the New American Standard
Version.
Chapter 2
They
Knew God, but---
Romans 1:16-2:11
_____________________________________________
Objectives for Chapter 2:
1. To
learn the meaning of righteousness
(“justification, being justified”) in Romans.
2. To discover the results of ignoring or
rejecting God, and the fate of persons who so
ignore or reject him.
3. To learn what Romans
teaches about sexual immorality, particularly
homosexuality.
4. To discover the promised
rewards for those who are obedient to God and
virtuous, and for those who are disobedient and
evil.
_____________________________________________
In
this section of Romans, Paul witnesses to his own
regard for the good news of Christ, sent from God;
he is “not ashamed” of it, because of what it is
and what it does. This gospel, says Paul, is “the
power of God for salvation.” This salvation is
“for everyone who believes”—both Jew and Greek, or
Gentile. In this good news which affords salvation
to those who believe, the “righteousness of God”
is revealed. This term, righteousness, and
particularly the righteousness of God, is one of
the most significant in Romans, and understanding
it is vital to understanding the book as a whole.
Righteousness, as employed by Paul in Romans,
signifies especially “justness,” freedom from
partiality or guilt, “vindication,” or
“justification,” rather than merely moral or
ethical goodness, as it often means in our common
use. Hence, the righteousness of God signifies
primarily not the ethical personal character of
God, but rather his absolute justness,
uprightness, and freedom from partiality in all
that he does. Persons can find righteousness (be
considered upright, justified, absolved of guilt
for sin) only as they receive it from God, through
faith in Christ. These ideas and metaphors have
their roots in Old Testament concepts and in legal
processes and judgments; Paul uses them very
appropriately in Romans, dealing with the position
of people before God and their relationship to the
law and to the good news of grace and salvation
through Christ.
Here,
then, Paul declares that “God’s kind of
righteousness,” the kind of righteousness or
justification which is God’s and which God
accepts, has been revealed and made possible
through the good news of Christ. This revelation
has come “through faith for faith”; that is, the
justified standing with God must be understood by
faith and appropriated through faith. In Romans
1:17, Paul reinforces this concept by quoting from
Habakkuk 2:4, which says, “Behold, he whose soul
is not upright in him shall fail, but the
righteous shall live by his faith.”
Beginning with 1:18, Paul
turns next to the other side of the issue. Just as
surely as the righteousness of God is revealed in
the gospel through faith, so “the wrath of God is
revealed … against all ungodliness and wickedness…
.” The remainder of chapter one is given to a
description of the practices and the fate of those
who are under the sentence of divine wrath or
retribution. A God of true righteousness, justice,
and impartiality cannot ignore the purposeful
wickedness of evil persons any more than he can
ignore the godliness and goodness of devout
persons. Wrath and condemnation came upon these
evil persons because they:
1.
Suppressed the truth. This reminds one of Jesus’
indictment against certain of his hearers, when He
pronounced them doubly cursed because they not
only refused themselves to enter the kingdom, but
also hindered others who wished to enter.
2. Had
knowledge of God, but refused to acknowledge or
serve him. This aspect of Paul’s description,
represented in the title of this chapter, “They
Knew God, But—” is perhaps the most severe
indictment of those of whom he writes. They are
“without excuse,” for though God has revealed
himself to them through his creation, they refused
to “honor him as God or give thanks to him.” What
a tragedy! And how common in every
generation—including our own! Never has access to
knowledge of God, to the good news of Christ, been
so available to so many. At the same time, perhaps
never have people so blatantly and widely and
publicly flaunted their disregard for what they
know, or could know, about God.
3.
Trusted in their own wisdom, and so became fools.
Such foolishness and misguided pride led them to
one of the most prevalent evils and one of the
most stubborn foes faced by the church in the
early centuries—idolatry. How succinctly and
masterfully Paul states the case as it really was
and is! Such people, being fools and thinking
themselves wise, had knowledge of an imperishable
God, a God of glory. But they exchanged their
relationship with this God for “a likeness of an
image of perishable man and of birds and animals
and snakes.” Thus, they “exchanged the truth of
God for the lie,” and “worshipped and served the
creature rather than the creator” (1:25).
4.
Knew God’s condemnation upon sin, yet persisted in
their sinful practices. These evil persons knew
not only that God was opposed to sin but also that
he had decreed that “those who do such things are
worthy of death” (1:32). Yet they continued to
practice sin and to approve of others who did so.
This is reminiscent of the words of the Lord to
Ezekiel: “But if you warn the wicked to turn from
his way, and he does not turn from his way, he
shall die in his iniquity” (Ezek. 33:9). How many
people do you know who practice sin who do not
know that God condemns sin? Many will even
acknowledge openly their awareness of God’s
condemnation upon their lives and the prospect of
eternal death, but they do not turn from their
ways or from approving of others in like
practices.
The
results of such attitudes, and the fate of those
who hold them and act accordingly, are set forth
graphically in this passage. First, they “became
futile in their thinking, and their senseless
heart was darkened.” History is replete with
evidence that whenever people turn against God and
trust in their own human “wisdom,” they find
themselves at the end of a dead-end street. All
striving after understanding and righteousness on
human terms is futile. When the light of the good
news in Christ is rejected, how great is the
darkness in minds and hearts! Jesus said, “If then
the light in you is darkness, how great is the
darkness!” (Matt. 6:23).
Furthermore, Paul states,
because of their idolatry and their refusal to
honor God, God “gave them up [delivered them over]
in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (1:24),
and “gave them up [delivered them over] to
dishonorable passions” (1:26), and “gave them up
[delivered them over] to an unreprovable mind, to
do things which are not acceptable” (1:28).
Through his word, through the Spirit, through
Christian evangels and friends, and in other ways
God woos and pleads with such persons to renounce
sin and acknowledge him. At the same time, he does
not force his will or way on any individual.
Persons who decide to reject God and the good news
may do so; if they do, they will be subject to the
consequences of their own decisions. God does not
“give up on them,” but he does allow them to go
their own ways and to reap the appropriate
harvests.
One of
the most tragic and sordid aspects of the results
of rejection, as delineated by Paul, is sexual
immorality and perversion. In Romans 1:26–27, the
sins of male homosexuality and lesbianism are
specifically and pointedly condemned as
“dishonorable,” “unnatural,” and “shameless.” In a
generation which is witnessing massive attempts to
legitimize such practices, to make them “normal,”
and even to make them acceptable among Christians
and in the church, this plain warning needs to be
taught, preached, and published vigorously by all
Christians. Such lusts and practices are grossly
sinful in the sight of God. They issue from hearts
and minds which are “darkened,” “‘senseless,”
“impure,” and in rebellion against God. It is
notable that in these two verses, Paul does not
employ the usual terms denoting “man” and “woman,”
but uses arsenes and theleia—“males” and
“females,” terms commonly employed to refer to
male and female animals. Human experience has long
born out what Paul makes plain—that such practices
have serious consequences not only spiritually and
eternally, but in the minds, hearts, and bodies of
those who engage in them, “receiving in themselves
the necessary penalty for their error [folly].”
Failure to acknowledge God
led to even more extensive deterioration and sin;
they became “filled with all kinds of wickedness.”
Read carefully, and then read again, the catalog
of sins in Romans 1:29–31. Relationships are
destroyed—with God, with family and friends, and
with all people. Boldness in sin increases and
influence widens—“sin loves company!” Many a young
(and not so young!) person has been given a start
down the way of sin by someone who, having become
enmeshed and polluted and led astray, is more than
willing to initiate another into that fellowship.
In the
final part of this section of Romans (2:1–11),
Paul begins to speak in the second person, turning
the searchlight of judgment directly upon his
readers. “Therefore, you are without excuse, O
man, everyone who is judging. For when you judge
the other man, you condemn yourself, because you
who are judging are practicing the same things.
Now we know that the judgment of God is according
to truth upon those who practice such things.”
Paul points out that self-righteous condemnation
of wrong in others does not gain the approval of
God for oneself.
Verse
4 expresses a principle regarding the nature of
God and his relationship to sin and sinful persons
which every Christian ought to learn well: “Or do
you presume upon the wealth of His kindness and
forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s
kindness leads you to repentance?” God’s love for
sinners, his forgiving mercy, his gift of a Son
for sin, does not mean that God tolerates or
condones sin. On the contrary, it indicates that
God cannot tolerate sin, and that he has provided
a way to escape its bondage and destruction. Far
from approving sin or the sinner, God’s tolerance
is intended to give all people an opportunity to
repent: “He is not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet.
3:9).
God’s
judgment comes into sharp focus in the closing
verses of this section. His judgment will be
“righteous,” entirely just and true. It will be
“to every man according to his deeds” (2:6),
whether good or evil. To the evil, Paul promises
“wrath,” “fury,” “tribulation,” and “distress.” To
the good, he extends prospects of “eternal life,”
“glory and honor and peace.” This judgment will
fall upon “Jew and Greek alike, for with God there
is no partiality” (2:10–11). This is the vital
lesson which Peter learned at the home of
Cornelius. In the Greek New Testament, the phrase
translated “there is no partiality” is literally
“there is no receiving of faces with God.” In
God’s presence, at the judgment, “face” (outward
appearance, personal pride, pretense, human glory)
will be to no avail. God judges not according to
“face,” but “according to truth.”
Chapter 3
Will
the Real Jews Please Stand Up?
Romans
2:12-3:31
Objectives for Chapter
3:
To
learn the responsibility of the literal Jews under
the new covenant.
1. To understand the penalty
for hypocrisy.
2. To discover who are the
“real Jews” in the gospel age.
3. To learn how
God’s righteousness is revealed through Christ and
the new covenant.
4. To understand how all
persons (both Jews and non-Jews) are on a common
level before God and must find righteousness in
the same way---by faith.
___________________________________________
Having
established that “there is no partiality with
God,” Paul proceeds to deal with a question which
was prominent throughout the early years of the
church, and no doubt was crucial at Rome. That
question was, How does the concept of God’s
impartial judgment, including both Jew and
non-Jew, bear upon the Jews and their relationship
to God through the law? The answer is not easy or
simple, but Paul knows that it must be provided.
Writing, we believe, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, he begins to develop his answer. As
we will see, one of the keys to this problem is to
know who the real or genuine “Jews” are in terms
of the new covenant.
First,
Paul states, “Now as many as sinned without law
will also perish without law, and as many as
sinned in law will be judged by law.” This accords
with the principle of God’s righteous
judgment—those who have been under law will be
held responsible for obedience to that law. Thus,
the “Gentiles” (literally, “the nations”—that is,
non-Jews) will be rewarded for inner
righteousness, for right actions, and for clear
consciences, even though they do not have (the)
law. God’s judgment will be righteous and
accurate, for he will judge the “secrets” of
people, not merely outward appearance or actions.
In
2:17–24, Paul elaborates further on a theme which
he has already touched upon (2:1–3). Here, the
principle is applied particularly to the Jews: If
the Jews, with their knowledge of the law, their
positions as “teachers” and “guides” and
“correctors” of others, do the things against
which they teach, they will be condemned just as
others who do such things. As did Jesus before
him, Paul severely indicts such hypocrisy, quoting
the prophet Isaiah: “The name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles (nations) because of you” (Isa.
52:5). Let this challenge strike home to you as a
Christian. How often is God rejected, and the
gospel made light of, among sinners because of
self-righteous and hypocritical professors of
Christ?
Moving
toward the question of who the “real (genuine,
true) Jews” are, in terms of the new covenant in
Christ, Paul speaks next of circumcision. Although
strictly physical in nature, circumcision played
an extremely significant role in the old covenant
between God and Israel; it was the mark of
belonging to the God of Israel. Circumcision
signified that a man was a possession of God and
was dedicated to serving God alone. Here in
Romans, Paul points out that this physical mark or
rite has and retains such significance only as it
issues in “keeping the law”—that is, in obedience
to God by those who intended circumcision as a
sign of the person’s relationship to him, not to
bring about that relationship. So then, “If the
uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law,
his uncircumcision will be considered as
circumcision, will it not?” (2:27). Logically,
then, the “real Jew” is not necessarily the one
who has the outward mark of circumcision. Rather,
the “real Jew” (that is, the person who really
belongs to and serves God acceptably) is the
person who has experienced the “real circumcision”
as a “matter of the heart, spiritual and not
literal” (2:29). Therefore, the “real Jews” (that
is, the real chosen people of God) under the new
covenant of grace are identified not by the
physical mark of circumcision, but by a heart
right with God and by the keeping of God’s
commandments. God still has a chosen people; he
still has an “Israel,” a nation of “Jews,” but
membership in this new family or nation of God is
not through circumcision or natural ancestry.
Rather, it is through faith, which produces
righteousness.
Anticipating the next
question which would come from a reader or
debating opponent, Paul asks and answers it
himself: “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or of
what benefit is circumcision? Much in every way.
Chiefly (or first), because they were entrusted
with the words of God” (3:1–2). From this
springboard, Paul establishes the following
points:
1.
Even though “some [of the Jews] were unfaithful”
(did not fulfill the responsibilities as receivers
and transmitters of God’s oracles intended for all
persons), this does not “nullify the faithfulness
of God.” In such circumstances, the righteousness
and justness of God is vindicated and appears even
more pronounced in comparison with the
unfaithfulness of some persons.
2. The
fact that God’s faithfulness and righteousness is
exhibited in sharp relief by human unfaithfulness
does not justify either of two false premises
which are based upon a merely “human way” of
thinking: (a) that God is unjust or unfair to
“inflict retribution,” since human unfaithfulness
serves to highlight his faithfulness; (b) that
persons ought to do evil so that God might be all
the more glorified when his righteousness is
observed in contrast to the evil deeds people do.
At this point, Paul gives us an insight into one
of the problems which he continually faced, and
which is still often experienced by pastors,
teachers, and other Christian leaders: “And why
not, as we are blasphemed and as some claim that
we say, ‘Let us do evil so that good may come’”
(3:8). Paul gives short shrift to such false
reports and those who propagate them: “Their
condemnation is just.”
Though
the Jews were privileged to be first “entrusted
with the words of God,” they have no advantage
over Gentiles in terms of the new covenant. The
reason for this, maintains Paul, is that “all men,
both Jews and Greeks [non-Jews] are under sin.” He
fortifies this assertion by quoting from the
psalms and from Proverbs, showing that universally
people have gone astray and are out of harmony
with God. These statements, from “the law” itself
(the Old Testament) speak directly, Paul
maintains, to those who are “in the law” (subject
to the legal code). Thus, “all the world” becomes
accountable to God, and all persons appear in need
of salvation, for “no person will be justified
(made righteous) before Him by works of law”
(3:20).
This,
then, leaves all persons in need of “the
righteousness of God,” or of “God’s kind of
righteousness.” Such righteousness has been
revealed, but is “apart from law.” Indeed, it is
“attested by the law and the prophets,” but it
comes only “through faith in Jesus Christ” and is
for “all who believe.” Under the new covenant in
Christ, then there are not two ways of relating to
God, one for Jews and another for non-Jews.
Indeed, “there is no distinction, for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Three
important conclusions may be drawn about
“justification” or “righteousness”: (a) It comes
“as a gift” and cannot be earned or worked for or
deserved. (b) It comes by God’s “grace,” his
unmerited favor. (c) It comes through “the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
This
justification through the sacrifice of Christ (“an
expiation by his blood”) demonstrates God’s
righteousness. In his mercy or forbearance, he
“passes over the previously committed sins,” and
now, in the terms of the new covenant of faith in
Christ, he shows his own righteousness as he
justifies those who believe in his Son, fulfilling
the terms of the covenant. The upshot of all this
is that “the boasting is excluded” (3:27). Since
all people have been declared to be “under sin,”
and since no person can be justified by “works of
law,” then no one—Jew or Gentile—has any ground
for human “boasting.” This exclusion comes not
through “a law of work,” but through a “law of
faith,” for “a man is justified [made righteous in
God’s sight] by faith, apart from works of law”
(3:30). God is one; there is not one God for the
Jews and another for the Gentiles. Therefore, this
one God is God of both Jews and Gentiles. He has
chosen to justify, through Christ, all persons on
the principle of faith, “the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.”
Paul
was accused (and is still accused by some) of
being antinomian—an enemy of the law. Realizing
that what he has just said in this section of
Romans may well be interpreted as being derogatory
of the law, he hastens to point out that the
principle of justification by faith does not
“nullify” or “overthrow” the law. Rather, it
“upholds” or “establishes” the law, since it is
attested by the law and the prophets and
vindicates the righteousness of the God who gave
the law.
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