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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea, God's Word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.
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Welcome to this period of Bible study. We are delighted to have the opportunity to spend just a few minutes in a consideration of God's Word with you and hope that the time that you spend with us, that you find it to be beneficial, that you find it to be faithful to God's Word, that you find it to be clear and ultimately that you find what we are doing here glorifying to God. If you have questions about what we teach, about what we say on this program, or in anything that you read or hear from us, we would love for you to reach out to us with your questions or with your comments. We invite you to reach out to us at our website backtothebiblepodcast.com today I want to jump right into Romans chapter one and we're going to pick up with a couple of things that we left off last time as we considered chapter one and especially the things that we read in verses 16 and 17. I think it's right that verses 16 and 17 are what we would consider the theme verses of Romans. The whole letter and certainly the first part of Romans chapter one is summarized in this aim here of Paul preaching the Gospel and him describing what that contains. I really think that all of the book of Romans and especially chapters 1 through 8 can be summarized in chapter 1 in verse 16 where Paul says, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith, even as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Now last time we were able to talk about the fact that first of all the Gospel is God's power for salvation. And Paul refers to it as God's power to salvation throughout the book, both as a promise of justification being made right with God, being forgiven, of our sins, being saved from our sinful record, but also he emphasizes future salvation that is the hope of eternal life. And we see that in chapter five. We see it in chapter eight that our salvation that we have in Christ is a preview of the salvation that we can have hope in eventually. Now he says that the Gospel is God's power to save because in it is revealed the righteousness of God. And we spent a little bit of time last time considering the idea of God's righteousness being revealed in The Gospel, when we talk about God's righteousness, I take it to be that we're talking about God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. Now, if you have questions about that definition, I would encourage you to go back and watch our last program. But what we tried to show was that God's righteousness is him holding fast to the word that he gave, particularly in the promise to Abraham. I think we even see that connection here in chapter one, verses 16 and 17, where he says it's for the Jew first and also for the Greek. When God made the promise to Abraham. And as Paul references that promise, the promise to Abraham was significant because it was a blessing for his family and, and a blessing for all nations. The Gospel was for the Jew first and also to the Greek. We also made mention of the fact that God's righteousness is made known in the Gospel. And then we reference that phrase from faith to faith. Now, I think that has long been a phrase that has been discussed and considered among good Bible students. And there are lots of different ideas, even among people who I appreciate as many Bible students and teachers. But I think that the idea there from faith to faith, perhaps we could render that as by faithfulness for faithfulness. One writer said that this faithfulness, this idea of God's faithfulness, is revealed in the Gospel of God's Son in Jesus. I take it to be that the faithfulness that we see in Christ is the demonstration of God's faithfulness to his promise. And by God's faithfulness displayed in Jesus, faithfulness provides us the opportunity to be moved to faithfulness to Him. So by faith for faith, or from faith to faith, or by faithfulness for faithfulness, this is what the prophet Habakkuk pointed to in Habakkuk 2, 3, 4. Habakkuk said that those who were right with God would be able to live by their faithfulness to Him. Of course, there's more context to the book of Habakkuk, and it is worth our time to consider that. Habakkuk looks at the wickedness in the nation around him. And he says, God, are you going to do something? Are you going to bring about judgment on this nation? And God says he's going to bring the Chaldeans. And that catches Habakkuk off guard because the Chaldeans are even worse than the people that Habakkuk wants the judgment to come down on. And yet what God says is that he needs to trust that Habakkuk needs to trust. And Habakkuk even With the recognition that there would be good people, there would be righteous people who would suffer through the judgment, would say that the just one, the righteous one, will live by his faithfulness. Now, lots of texts say the righteous shall live by faith. But the word translated faith there is rendered faithfulness, or being steady and sure and true. And if you look up that word, it is used in a massive amount, an overwhelming margin. In the Old Testament, that word is used to talk about faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness, firmness and truth. The footnote, for example, both in the Legacy Standard Bible that I use regularly and the ESV Bible that I use regularly, both of them in the footnotes say, or faithfulness. And the NIV and the New Living Translation both render it as faithfulness. And we can look at sample passages throughout the Old Testament and I will put some of these up on the screen for those of you who are watching on YouTube. But for those who are just listening, just think about what the word that's used there as faith in Habakkuk 2, it's used to describe God in Deuteronomy chapter 32, where he says, the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just a God of faithfulness and without injustice. That's the very same word that is used over in Habakkuk chapter two, down in the book of second kings, chapter 12. And looking at verse 15, the word there is used where it says they did not require an accounting from the men in whose hand they paid the money in order to pay those who did the work, for they were doing it faithfully. You see that? That's the word there. That's faith. This is not just belief. God doesn't just believe in himself, but. But it's faithfulness. These men, they're not just talking about their belief, they're talking about their faithfulness. In the managing of these resources, you know the words faith and belief translate the Greek word pistis and its word family. And that word is usually translated in the New Testament something like faith or belief, but it really has a fuller range of meaning. We see that word used to describe God's faithfulness in Romans 3. 3 We talk about God's faith. Well, God's faith doesn't have anything to do with his belief in himself or even his trust or conviction, but it has to do with his commitment, his loyalty, his keeping his word. Really, Paul has in mind that full range of meaning in the Book of Romans. That's evident by his first and last use of the word faith in the Book of Romans in the first place. He uses it in Romans chapter one, in verse five to talk about the obedience of faith. And it's interesting that the very last time that the word faith shows up in the book, he uses it to talk again about the obedience of faith. So just think of that as bookends on this great book of Romans about salvation by faith. Well, what do we mean by faith? Well, Paul means something more than just belief or just conviction or just trust or confidence. He means something that involves, that is characterized, that is made up of obedience. And I don't mean by that, and I don't think Paul means by that. And I think we'll see this. I don't mean by that that faith that leads to obedience. I mean that faith that is characterized by obedience. Sometimes people say, well, we are just saved by our belief or by our trust. And then the good works are going to follow. I think that's true. I think there is a sense in which we think something is true or we trust something, and then the obedience is going to follow. But this faith is characterized by that obedience. It's. By its allegiance, it's fidelity, it's loyalty. It's something deeper than. Than just some mental conviction. And we see that's true. Next time, Lord willing, as we study together, we'll look at the beginning of chapter two, where Paul talks about the obedience of the righteous and the disobedience of the wicked being the things that are brought into the final judgment. When Paul talks about faith, he's not eliminating a concern or a need or an awareness of obedience. I love Romans 6, 17, 18, where Paul says, thanks be to God, that though you were the servants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed. And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I don't know how Paul could have put it in words any more plainly that what saved them, what pulled them away from slavery to sin, was that they were obedient from the heart to the teaching that they had received. So they were not slaves to sin anymore. They were slaves to. To righteousness. And we see that throughout the book. Of course, there are occasions, there are instances, and perhaps lots of them where faith has in mind. What's being translated is that we're talking about belief in the truth of something. But when it's talking about the summation of our response to a king, it makes the most sense as a word we might think of as fidelity and. And loyalty and allegiance and faithfulness. When you come before the King, the primary way that you think about responding is not believing in his existence or even trusting him, but being loyal to him, about being faithful to him. Our faith in and our faithfulness to God is what he has always wanted and what has always characterized the people who were his. The just have always lived by faith. Habakkuk2.4 tells us that. And we'll talk a lot more about faith as we make our way through the book of Romans, especially as we come into chapter four. And following. Let me say one other thing about verses 16 and 17. I think that I need to make a little bit of a case that that from faith for faith could be referring to in Jesus and His faithfulness, providing the basis for our faithfulness to Him. I think we see that In Romans, chapter 3, verses 21 through 26, where Paul says that God's righteousness has been displayed through verse 22, faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, verse 24 being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith for a demonstration of his righteousness. Because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed for the demonstration of his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of of the one who has faith in Jesus. In verse 22 it talks about through the faith in Jesus Christ. Other translations render that through the faith of Jesus Christ. And I am no Greek scholar and I don't have the credentials to speak with that clearly. But what I do think we should see in that is that God is demonstrating his righteousness. And in what Christ did. I take that to be through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And there are good writers and teachers who can make that case far better than I can. But what I would want you to see is that verse 22, it's through faith in Christ for those who have faith, for those who believe, for those who are faithful. I would encourage us to see that word, it's the same word, pistis, that that has to do with what we have been talking about, about faith. What I think is happening here is that Paul says that God's displayed His righteousness in Jesus in His faithfulness, and it's for those who are faithful to him. And if that doesn't make the case, dropping down to verses 25 and 26, it says that in Jesus blood God demonstrated his righteousness. God shows he is faithful in Jesus, who was Faithful all the way to the cross. And in seeing that faithfulness of Jesus, we having faithfulness to him, giving our loyalty to him, we can be made just, we can be the justified in the sight of God. And he can remain just. He remains righteous. He remains true and honest. Now let me suggest to you, and if you have questions about that, I would love to hear those questions and I would love to try to address them. But I think what we have in Paul In Romans 1, 16 and 17, Paul saying, I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is through it that God saves. How does he save? The God demonstrates his faithfulness to the covenant promises that he made. And he made those covenant promises and they are going to be effective. They are going to be available for everyone who gives their allegiance to Jesus because God demonstrating that covenant faithfulness has revealed it in Jesus. Faithfulness in Jesus, commitment to the will of God on all the way through the cross. And we can give our allegiance to Jesus and we can find that salvation. Why? Because the just will live by faithfulness. I think that's what Paul is getting at in chapter one, verses 16 and 17, and I hope we can see that together. Now Paul was eager to preach for another reason, beginning in verse 18. But let me suggest that chapter one, 16 and 17 can serve as an outline for much of the first half of Romans. This I heard from brother Marshall McDaniel and he has helped me with my understanding. If I understand it, I hope that I do. He has helped me with my consideration of the book of Romans more than anyone else. And he you can look up Marshall McDaniel rereading Romans and he's been able to present those lessons in a couple of places. And I'm dependent on him for a lot of this help and teaching and pointing me in the right direction and then wrestling with it on my own. But he points out the fact that I think that we could see chapter one, verses 16 and 17 as an outline for a lot of the book of Romans, especially the first half. He's going to say God's righteousness is demonstrated by his faithfulness in Jesus. We see that in 3, 21, 26, as we just read then from chapter 3, verse 27, all the way to chapter 5, verse 11. Our righteousness comes by our faithfulness, making us the seed of Abraham in Christ. He's going to talk about what Abraham and David found and, and the blessing that we have of being introduced into fellowship with God through our faith, all the way through 5, 11. But then we'll see when he says the just shall live by faith, what does that life look like? Well, that life comes by God's righteousness and our faithfulness so that we are shaped from the inside out from the Spirit and from this freedom from sin and this slavery to righteousness and from this transformation that occurs, and from the hope that we anticipate the life that comes by God's righteousness and our faithfulness. So I think it would be appropriate to think of 116 and 17 as kind of the outline for the first half of the book. Now, in verse 18, as I just made mention a moment ago, Paul is eager to preach the gospel for another reason. Because in verse 18 he says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness, ungodliness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Now we'll look more carefully at this passage, but I want you to see that God's wrath is also revealed. Now this, just like his mercy, just like his kindness, flows from the justice, the righteousness of God. This is the need for the good news of salvation. And I want us to see the fours in this passage. Look at verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed. Now in verse 19, my text there says, because that which is known about God is evident to them. So you have four and. And then verse 19 it really is. For again, even though most translations render it, because then verse 24 and then you have in verse 21 4, and I think what's happening here is why was Paul eager to preach the gospel of God's salvation? Because of the wrath of God against unrighteousness and ungodliness. Why God's wrath? Because that which is known about God is clearly evident. And verse 20, because even though they've been able to see that they have squelched the truth, then why are they living this way? Because they suppress the truth of God and they turn to idolatry. And then we come to verse 24, and there's not just a for there's a therefore. And I think the idea of a therefore is this concluding term. That is, it was on the basis of all of that. And in this case, because of all of this, God gave them up. That is because they could have known God and suppressed that truth and unrighteousness and pursued idolatry. God gave them up. And then we see fours again, verse 25. Why would God give them up? Because they embraced a lie and because they worship the creature rather than the creator. In verse 26, for this reason there's therefore again, God gave them up and let them go to the furthest degree in their demonstration of their rejection of God's created order. So look at that train of thought as we read. Look at how these connecting words. I think that is one of the most vital, one of the most helpful things about Bible study is looking for those connecting words for therefore, because but for this reason, if we can see how those passages go from one to the next, I think it will help us see what's happening. So let's go back to chapter one and verse 18 and let's read all the way through Romans chapter one, verses 18 through 32, and then we'll try to draw some lessons out of that. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is clearly seen, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, both his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man, and of birds and four footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another. Males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind to do those things which are not proper, having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossips, they slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents without understanding, untrustful, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful. And although they know the righteous requirement of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death. They do not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. So, summarizing what Paul says here, he describes the problem for which the Gospel is the solution. People lived ungodly and unrighteous lives and they pushed down God's truth by the unrighteous way they lived. Now Paul's words here are specifically applicable to the nations, the Gentiles, in their rejection of God. Now they should have known God. There was plenty of evidence of him and his power in creation all around them. They should have known there was one above and beyond them. Now as a result, they are without excuse for the way that they were living. But they started down a bad path by refusing to give thanks, by refusing to honor him as God. And, and as a result, their thinking, which was already foolish, becomes dark. Now, they thought they were wise, but they were actually foolish because they were worshiping the things that were created and not the One who had created all of it. And they were doing that through idolatry. They lost the focus on the Maker and devoted themselves to images copying what he had made. Now we should hear the echoes of the story in Adam in this paragraph. The whole world had followed Adam's idolatry, that is his self worship. And you say, well, Adam doesn't bow down to himself. He trusts himself to define what is good and what is right. And he exchanges God for creation. How does he do that? He listens to the woman, and the woman listens to the serpent and, and everything is topsy turvy, out of order. This is the only place that animals, birds and creeping things appear in a list together, except Genesis 1:24:26. So we have to see Paul highlighting that and giving us a hyperlink to the Old Testament passage there. And he describes their practices as senseless as well, worthless, as foolish. And because they rejected him as their Creator, the text says that God gave them over. He let them experience what life without him was like. And one key way that we see his giving them up was the sexual depravity, specifically homosexuality, to which they fell. Now of course, our purpose here, and Paul's purpose was, was not about addressing homosexuality directly, but what he's doing is he's saying that homosexuality is the great demonstration that people have rejected God because it has rejected the very natural order that God made. Is homosexuality worse than other sins? Of course, in one sense we would say no. Any sin is a rejection of God's will and a failure to trust and obey him. But there is a sense in which Paul is specifying homosexuality in order to say something more. He is saying that homosexuality is a sin that demonstrates a person, and I think even more so a culture's utter rejection of God, his will and his design for humanity. But that wasn't all. They were filled with all kinds of sinful attitudes and actions. And unless we come to the conclusion that that we are not guilty of those sins, we should note that this list includes gossip and envy and boasting right alongside murder, hating God and violence. Sometimes we have a tendency to justify ourselves and we want to be very careful as we read this passage that we don't only look at them and not ourselves. Now, though they should have and did know the standard, the requirement, the ordinance, and though they should have and did know the cost, ultimately death, they still pursued these things and cheered on those who did so as well. We need to take a moment here and consider both the goodness and the severity of God. If we're going to celebrate the news of the Gospel and in verses 16 and 17, that is God's power for salvation, then we also have to wrestle with and we have to embrace verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed. Now, I believe that Paul is writing to Gentile Christians, very likely, who came out of this and now are trying to live lives that don't look like that anymore. Paul would write to the Corinthians and say, such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified. And I believe he will continue to address those Gentiles who are going to encounter a false teaching that is coming after them. And Lord willing, we'll look at that. Until next time, though we bid you a pleasant good day.
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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's word alone, our authority, every word, every step, in the name of Christ back to the Bible for the way of life.