From Albert Barnes' "Notes on the New Testament."
WRITTEN IN GREEK
The Epistle has been, with great uniformity, attributed to the
apostle Paul, and received as a part of the sacred canon....
It is agreed by all, that this epistle was written in Greek.
Though addressed to a people whose language was the Latin, yet
this epistle to them, like those to other churches, was in Greek.
On this point, also, there is no debate.
The reasons why this language was chosen were probably the
following. (1.) The epistle was designed, doubtless, to be read
by other churches as well as the Roman, Compare Col.4:16.
Yet the Greek language, being generally known and spoken, was
more adapted to this design than the Latin. (2.) The Greek
language was then understood at Rome, and extensively spoken. It
was a part of polite education to learn it. The Roman youth
were taught it; and it was the fashion of the times to study it,
even so much so as to make it matter of complaint that the Latin
was neglected for it by the Roman youth.
Thus Cicero (Pro. Arch.) says, 'The Greek language is spoken in
almost all nations; the Latin is confined to our comparatively
narrow borders.' Tacitus(Orat.29) says, 'An infant born now is
committed to a Greek nurse.' Juvenal (6.185) speaks of its being
considered as an indispensable part of polite education, to be
acquainted with the Greek. (3.) It is not impossible that the
Jews at Rome, who constituted a separate colony, were better
acquainted with the Greek than the Latin. They had Greek, but no
Latin translation of the Scriptures: and it is very possible that
they used the language in which they were accustomed to read
their Scriptures, and which was extensively spoken by their
brethren throughout the world. (4.) The apostle was himself
probably more familiar with the Greek than the Latin. He
was a native of Cilicia, where the Greek was doubtless spoken,
and he not infrequently quotes the Greek poets in his addresses
and epistles, Acts 21:37; 17:28; Tit.1:12; I Cor.15:33.
This epistle is placed first among Paul's epistles, not because
it was the first written, but because of the length and
importance of the epistle itself, and the importance of
the church in the imperial city. It has uniformly had this place
in the sacred canon, though there is reason to believe that the
Epistle to the Galatians, the first to the Corinthians, and
perhaps the two to the Thessalonians, were written before this.
WHEN WRITTEN?
Of the time when it was written there can be little doubt. About
the year 52 or 54 the emperor Claudius banished all Jews from
Rome. In Acts 18:2, we have an account of the first acquaintance
of Paul with Aquila and Priscilla, who had departed from Rome
in consequence of that decree. This acquaintance was formed in
Corinth; and we are told that Paul abode with them, and worked at
the same occupation, Acts 18:3. In Rom.16:3,4, he directs the
church to greet Priscilla and Aquila, who had for his life
laid down their own necks. This service which they rendered him
must have been, therefore, after the decree of Claudius; and of
course the epistle must have been written after the year 52.
In Acts 18:19, we are told that he left Aquila and Priscilla at
Ephesus. Paul made a journey through the neighbouring regions,
and then returned to Ephesus, Acts 19:1. Paul remained at Ephesus
at least two years, (Acts 19:8,9,10,) and while here probably
wrote the first Epistle to the Corinthians. In that epistle
(16:19) he sends the salutation of Priscilla and Aquila, who were
of course still at Ephesus. The Epistle to the Romans, therefore,
in which he sends his salutation to Aquila and Priscilla, as
being then at Rome, could not be written until they had left
Ephesus and returned to Rome; that is, until three years, at
least, after the decree of Claudius in 52 or 54.
Still further. When Paul wrote this epistle, he was about to
depart for Jerusalem to convey a collection which had been made
for the poor saints there, by the churches in Macedonia and
Achaia, Rom.15:25,26. When he had done this, he intended to go to
Rome, Rom.15:28.
Now, by looking at the Acts of the Apostles, we can determine
when this occurred. At this time he sent Timotheus and Erastus
before him, into Macedonia, while he remained in Asia for a
season, Acts 19:22. After this, (Acts 20:1,2) Paul himself
went into Macedonia, passed through Greece, and remained about
three months there. In this journey it is almost certain that he
went to Corinth, the capital of Achaia, at which time it is
supposed this epistle was written. From this place he set out for
Jerusalem, where he was made a prisoner; and after remaining a
prisoner two years, (Acts 24:27,) he was sent to Rome about A.D.
60. Allowing for the time of his travelling and his imprisonment,
it must have been about three years from the time that he
purposed to go to Jerusalem; that is, from the time that he
finished the epistle,(Rom.15:25-29,) to the time when he reached
Rome, and thus the epistle must have been written about A.D.57.
It is clear, that the epistle was written from Corinth. In
ch.16:1, Phebe, a member of the church at Cenchrea, is commended
to the Romans. She probably had charge of the epistle, or
accompanied those who had it. Cenchrea was the port of the city
of Corinth, about seven or eight miles from the city. In ch.16:
23, Gaius is spoken of as the host of Paul, or he of whose
hospitality Paul partook; but Gaius was baptized by Paul at
Corinth, and Corinth was manifestly his place of residence,
1 Cor.1:14.
Erastus is also mentioned as the chamberlain of the city where
the epistle was written; but this Erastus is mentioned as having
his abode at Corinth, 2 Tim.4:20.
From all this it is manifest that the epistle was written at
Corinth, about the year 57.
THE DISCIPLES IN ROME?
Of the state of the church at Rome at that time it is not easy to
form a precise opinion. From this epistle it is evident that it
was composed of Jews and Gentiles, and that one design of writing
to it was to reconcile their jarring opinions, particularly about
the obligation of the Jewish law; the advantage of the Jew; and
the way of justification. It is probable that the two parties in
the church were endeavouring to defend each their peculiar
opinions, and that the apostle took this opportunity and mode to
state to his converted countrymen the great doctrines of
Christianity, and the relation of the law of Moses to the
Christian system. The epistle itself is full proof that the
church to whom it was addressed was composed of Jews and
Gentiles. No small part of it is an argument expressly with the
Jews, chs.2;3;4;9;10;11. And no small part of the epistle also
is designed to state the true doctrine about the character of the
Gentiles, and the way in which they could be justified before
God.
At this time there was a large number of Jews at Rome. When
Pompey the Great overran Judea, he sent a large number of Jews
prisoners to Rome, to be sold as slaves. But it was not easy to
control them. They persevered resolutely and obstinately in
adhering to the rites of their nation, in keeping the Sabbath,
etc.; so that the Romans chose at last to give them their
freedom, and assigned them a place in the vicinity of the city
across the Tiber. Here a town was built, which was principally in
habited by Jews. Josephus mentions that 4000 Jews were banished
from Rome at one time to Sardinia, and that a still greater
number were punished who were unwilling to become soldiers, Ant.
18.ch.3,5. Philo (Legat.ad Caium) says, that many of the Jews at
Rome had obtained their freedom ; for, says he, being made
captive in war, and brought into Italy, they were set at liberty
by their masters, neither were they compelled to change the rites
of their fathers....
GOSPEL IN ROME?
At what time, or by whom, the gospel was first preached at Rome
has been a matter of controversy, The Roman Catholic Church have
maintained that it was founded by Peter, and have thence drawn an
argument for their high claims and infallibility. On this subject
they make a confident appeal to some of the fathers.
There is strong evidence to be derived from this epistle itself,
and from the Acts, that Paul did not regard Peter as having any
such primacy and ascendancy in the Roman church as are claimed
for him by the papists. (1.) In this whole epistle there is no
mention of Peter at all. It is not suggested that he had been, or
was then, at Rome. If he had been, and the church had been
founded by him, it is incredible that Paul did not make mention
of that fact. This is the more striking, as it was done in other
cases where churches had been founded by other men. See 1 Cor.1:
12,13,14,15. Especially is Peter, or Cephas, mentioned repeatedly
by the apostle Paul in his other epistles, 1 Cor.3:22;9:5;15:5;
Gal.2:9;1:18;2:7,8,14. In these places Peter is mentioned
in connexion with the churches at Corinth and Galatia, yet never
there as appealing to his authority, but, in regard to the
latter, expressly calling it in question. Now, it is incredible
that if Peter had been then at Rome, and bad founded the church
there, and was regarded as invested with any peculiar authority
over it, that Paul should never once have even suggested his
name. (2.) It is clear that Peter was not there when Paul wrote
this epistle. If he had been, he could not have failed to have
sent him a salutation, amid the numbers that he saluted in the
sixteenth chapter. (3.) In the Acts of the Apostles there is no
mention of Peter's having been at Rome; but the presumption, from
that history, is almost conclusive that he had not been. In Acts
12:3,4, we have an account of his having been imprisoned by Herod
Agrippa near the close of his reign, (comp.v.23.). This occurred
about the third or fourth year of the reign of Claudius, who
began to reign A.D.41. It is altogether improbable that he had
been at Rome before this. Claudius had not reigned more than
three years; and all the testimony that the fathers give is, that
Peter came to Rome in his reign. (4.) Peter was at Jerusalem
still in the ninth or tenth year of the reign of Claudius, Acts
15:6, etc. Nor is there any mention made then of his having been
at Rome. (5.) Paul went to Rome about A.D. 60. There is no
mention made then of Peter's being with him, or being there. If
he had been, it could hardly have failed of being recorded.
Especially is this remarkable when Paul's meeting with the
brethren is expressly mentioned, (Acts 28:14,15;) and when it is
recorded that he met the Jews, and abode with them, and spent at
Rome no less than two years. If Peter had been there, such a fact
could not fail to have been recorded, or alluded to, either in
the Acts or the Epistle to the Romans. (6.) The epistles to the
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, to Philemon, and the second
Epistle to Timothy, (Lardner, 6.235,) were written from Rome
during the residence Paul as a prisoner; and the Epistle to the
Hebrews probably also while he was still in Italy. In none of
thes epistles is there any note that Peter was then, or had been,
in Rome; a fact that cannot he accounted for if he was regarded
as the founder of that church, and especially if he was then in
that city. Yet in those epistles there are the salutations of a
number to those churches. In particular, Epaphras, Luke the
beloved physician, (Col.4:12,14,) and the saints of the household
of Caesar are mentioned, Phil.4:22. In 2 Tim.4:11, Paul expressly
affirms that Luke only was with him - a declaration utterly
irreconcilable with the supposition that Peter was then at
Rome. (7.) If Peter was ever at Rome, therefore, of which indeed
there is no reason to doubt, he must have come there after Paul:
at what time is unknown. That he was there cannot be doubted,
without calling in question the truth of all history.
When, or by whom, the gospel was preached first at Rome, it is
not easy, perhaps not possible, to determine. In the account of
the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:10,) we find, among others, that
there were present strangers of Rome, and it is not improbable
that they carried back the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and became
the founders of the Roman church. One design and effect of that
miracle was doubtless to spread the knowledge of the Saviour
among all nations. In the list of persons who are mentioned
in Rom.16 it is not improbable that some of those early converts
are included; and that Paul thus intended to show honour to their
early conversion and zeal in the cause of Christianity....
That the church at Rome was founded early, is evident from the
celebrity which it had acquired. At the time when Paul wrote this
epistle, (A.D.57,) their faith was spoken of throughout the
world, chap. 1:3. The character of the church at Rome cannot be
clearly ascertained. Yet it is clear that it was not made up
merely of the lower classes of the community. In Phil.4:22, it
appears that the gospel had made its way to the family of Caesar,
and that a part of his household had been converted to the
Christian faith.... But little on this subject can be known.
While it is probable that the great mass of believers in all the
early churches was of obscure and plebeian origin, it is also
certain that some who were rich, and noble, and learned, became
members of the church of Christ. See 1 Tim.2:9; 1 Pet.3:3; 1
Tim.6:20; Col.2:3; 1 Cor.1:26; Acts 7:34.
THE THEOLOGY OF ROMANS
This epistle has been usually deemed the most difficult of
interpretation of any part of the New Testament; and no small
part of the controversies in the Christian church have grown out
of discussions about its meaning. Early in the history of the
church, even before the death of the apostles, we learn from 2
Pet.3:16, that the writings of Paul were some of them regarded as
being hard to be understood; and that the unlearned and unstable
wrested them to their own destruction. It is probable that Peter
has reference here to the high and mysterious doctrines about
justification and the sovereignty of God, and the doctrines of
election and decrees.
From the epistle of James, it would seem probable also, that a
ready the apostle Paul's doctrine of justification by faith had
been perverted and abused. It seems to have been inferred
that good works were unnecessary; and here was the beginning of
the cheerless and withering system of Antinomianism (against law)
which a more destructive or pestilential heresy never found its
way into the Christian church. Several reasons might be assigned
for the controversies which have grown out of this epistle. (1.)
The very structure of the argument, and the peculiarity of the
apostle's manner of writing. He, is rapid; mighty; profound;
often involved; readily following a new thought; leaving
the regular subject, and returning again after a considerable
interval. Hence his writings abound with parentheses, and with
complicated paragraphs. (2.) Objections, are often introduced, so
that it requires close attention to determine their precise
bearing. Though he employs no small part of the epistle in
answering objections, yet an objector is never once formally
introduced or mentioned. (3.) His expressions and phrases are
many of them liable to be misunderstood, and capable of
perversion. Of this class were such expressions as the
'righteousness of faith,' the 'righteousness of God,' etc.
(4.) The doctrines themselves are high and mysterious....
(5.) It cannot be denied, that one reason why the epistles of
Paul have been regarded as so difficult has been an
unwillingness to admit the truth of the plain doctrines which he
teaches. The heart is by nature opposed to them, and comes to
believe them with great reluctance. This feeling will account for
no small part of the difficulties felt in regard to this epistle.
There is one great maxim in interpreting the Scriptures that can
never be departed from. It is, that men can never understand
them aright, until they are willing to suffer them to speak out
their fair and proper meaning. When men are determined not to
find certain doctrines in the Bible, nothing is more natural than
that they should find difficulties in it, and complain much of
its great obscurity and mystery. I add, (6,) that one principal
reason why so much difficulty has been felt here, has been an
unwillingness to stop where the apostle does. Men have desired to
advance farther, and penetrate the mysteries which the Spirit of
inspiration has not disclosed. Where Paul states a simple fact,
men often advance a theory. The fact may be clear and plain;
their theory is obscure, involved, mysterious, or absurd....
Perhaps, on the whole, there is no book of the New Testament that
more demands a humble, docile, and prayerful disposition in its
interpretation than this epistle. Its profound doctrines; its
abstruse inquiries; and the opposition of many of those doctrines
to the views of the unrenewed and unsubdued heart of man, make a
spirit of docility and prayer peculiarly needful in its
investigation. No man ever yet understood the reasonings and
views of the apostle Paul but under the influence of elevated
piety.
None ever found opposition to his doctrines recede, and
difficulties vanish, who did not bring the mind in a humble frame
to receive all that has been revealed; and that, in a spirit of
humble prayer, did not purpose to lay aside all bias, and open
the heart to the full influence of the elevated truths which he
inculcates.
Where there is a willingness that God should reign and do all his
pleasure, this epistle may be, in its general character, easily
understood. Where this is wanting, it will appear full of mystery
and perplexity; the mind will be embarrassed, and the heart
dissatisfied with its doctrines; and the unhumbled spirit will
rise from its study only confused, irritated, perplexed, and
dissatisfied.
End of quotes from Albert Barnes' "Notes on the New Testament."
OUTLINE OF ROMANS
1. Introduction 1:1-17
A. Salutation 1:1-7
B. Proposed visit 1:8-15
C. Theme: the righteousness of God 1:16-,17
2. Righteous in judging sinners 1:18-3:20
A. Gentile sinners 1:18-32
B. Jewish sinners 2:1-3:20
3. Righteous in justifying believers 3:21-5:21
A. God's provision 3:21-31
B. Illustrated by Abraham 4:1-25
C. Death in Adam, life in Christ 5:1-21
4. Righteous in sanctifying believers 6:1-8:39
A. Freed from sin, slaves to God 6:1-23
B. Life in the flesh 7:1-25
C. Life in the Spirit 8:1-39
5. Righteousness manifested in history 9:1-11:36
A. Spiritual Israel will inherit the promise 9:1-29
B. Seeking righteousness by works 9:30-10:21
C. God's mercy on Israel 11:1-36
6. Righteousness exhibited in daily life 12:1-15:13
A. The Christian's commitment 12:1,2
B. Living with Christians and non-Christians 12:3-13:14
C. Guidance for weak and strong Christians 14:1-15:13
7. Personal notes and conclusion 15:14-16:27
A. Paul's plans for future ministry 15:14-33
B. Praise and greetings 16:1-27
............................
The epistle to Romans is not hard to understand when we read all
the Bible, when we understand justification/forgiveness of sins
is through faith in Christ's sacrifice, as our sin bearer, when
we know that in it all the holy, righteous law of God is not
abolished by faith, but established by it, and when we understand
the plan of salvation that God has purposed for every person who
has ever lived - Keith Hunt.
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy:Paul writes Romans - Part two
CHAPTER ONE
Paul opens by declaring he is a "slave" of Jesus Christ, and
then an apostle called to the Gospel of Christ. Jesus was born
physical from the seed of David, but made a Son of God with POWER
and the holiness of the Spirit, by a resurrection from the dead.
He says the Roman Christians are called by Jesus, and gives them
peace and grace form God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We notice, as we do in nearly all of Paul's epistles that
the Holy Spirit is not mentioned as with the Father and Christ.
The simple reason is that the Holy Spirit is NOT "person" or a
bodied being of the Godhead, as are the Father and Christ. If the
Spirit was, then Paul was surely giving and insult in not
recognizing the fact in the "greeting" of grace and peace from
the Godhead (verses 1-7).
In verses 8-15 Paul tells them he is and was mindful to come
to them there in Rome. He wants to impart some spiritual gift to
edify them. He has a commission to preach the Gospel to the
Gentiles, and so he was ready to preach it at Rome also.
He is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, it is the POWER
of God unto salvation to all believers, and the righteousness of
God is revealed in it, as it is "from faith to faith" for it was
written (Hab.2:4) that "The just shall live by faith." From faith
to faith is first the faith we must have in the sacrifice of
Jesus to atone for our sins, and then we receive the Spirit of
God, which is Jesus living IN us, and so the life we now live we
live by the faith OF Christ (Gal.2:20). And as we shall see in
chapter 3:31, faith does NOT abolish God's law, but establishes
it.
The Gospel is salvation, but there will be a time of the
wrath of God upon all unrighteousness and ungodliness. Some know
the truth but hold it back in unrighteousness, for God is
manifested and many of His invisible truths are seen in His
creation. Some knew God but did not glorify Him or were not
thankful to Him, and became vain in their own ideas and so their
hearts were darkened. They professed to be "wise" but actually
they became fools, and ended up making idols and physical things
into gods. They changed the glory of God into worshipping
corruptible men and birds, and beasts. So it was that God just
let them go ahead with all this and they moved into all
kinds of uncleanness through the lusts of their mind. They
changed the truth of God into lies and served the creation more
than the one who cerated it (verses 18-25).
The vile things that mankind got into, for leaving the
truths of God, were sexual evils such as homosexuality and
lesbianism. As they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, their schools, their Universities, they were given
over to a mind void of true judgment.
Paul now lists many different kinds of reprobate practices,
thoughts, and ways of living. Greed, hate, envy, murder,
fighting, deception, malicious behavior, gossip, backstabbers,
haters of God, proudness, boastful. He says they are forever
inventing new ways of sin and evil, which include ways to be
disobedient to parents, ways to not understand truth, ways to
break promises, and ways to be heartless and unforgiving.
Paul says they know that death is the penalty for those who
live like this, yet they go ahead and live that way, and they
have pleasure in those that also live like they do (verses
18-32).
CHAPTER TWO
Paul now talks about those who "judge" or "condemn" others,
but they themselves do the same kind of wrong things they are
condemning others about. Those who do commit such things as he
just mentioned have a sure judgment of God coming upon them. If
you do the same things that you condemn others for, then be sure
that God will one day bring judgment upon you. You may think God
is not looking, so not going to do anything about your sins, but
this patience and longsuffering and goodness of God in not
dealing with you swiftly is to allow you to come to repentance.
If you do not, then you store up for yourself even more wrath for
that coming day of wrath and judgment of God (verses 1-5).
God is one day going to render to every person what they
deserve to have, according to their deeds or the way they have
lived. To those who patiently continue in well doing, and seek
for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life will be given.
But for those who do not OBEY the TRUTH, but obey
UN-righteousness, there will be indignation and wrath (verses
6-8).
These two verses are packed with great truths. Salvation is
more than JUST "believing on" Jesus Christ. It is moving on from
that point to full repentance from sin, and to serving and
seeking, to do "well" or in other words to do God's will, as
Jesus once said, "Not my will be done, but your will be done."
True Christianity is "seeking" for glory and immortality. It is
not gaining salvation by "works" but it is having the right
mind-set to walk the straight and narrow pathway that leads to
life, and Jesus Himself said, there are few who find that path
and will walk it, but He said, that it was the wide pathway that
led to destruction and death. This is all in the very words of
Jesus if we will but read all His words as recorded in the
Gospels. For those who have the true mind that the Lord wants to
see, there will be eternal life at the end of the trail.
But to those who will not obey the truth (and God's word is
truth - John 17:17) but obey UN-righteousness (and righteousness
is the keeping of God's commandments - see Ps.119:172), there
will be indignation and wrath from God, at the end of their
trail.
Paul thinks this very important for he repeats it again in
verses 9-11. Those that do or live a life of evil, no matter who
you are, and you never repent of it, there will be anguish for
them. You may remember Jesus saying that some would be on the
outside of the Kingdom of God looking in, never having made it,
and they would be weeping and crying. You may remember Jesus also
saying that some would say, "Lord, Lord, have we not done
miracles in your name, but I will answer them, that I never knew
you, depart from me you that work iniquity" (Greek is
"lawlessness" - see Mat.5:21-27). A willingness to serve and obey
God is a PART of salvation. Those who will not do good and obey
God, will not be in His Kingdom. Those who will work good, will
obey the truth, will be willing to follow righteousness, will
have glory, honor, peace. There is no respecter of persons with
God, all, whoever you are, will be treated under those two
overall headings of a willingness to follow "righteousness" or
who follow "un-righteousness."
Paul then puts emphasis on those who "know better" - who do
NOT know the law and ways of God (for they have not in this life
time had their blindness to God removed, they have never been
called to salvation) will die this physical death (they will in
the future be raised in a resurrection to have a chance of
salvation. I covered this in great detail as we went through the
Gospels). But for those who DO KNOW the law, have been called
to salvation, shall be judged by the word of God and the law of
God, were they WILLING to have the mind-set of WANTING to follow
the truth of God and obey His law, or were they NOT willing to do
so?
Paul now gives a verse/s (which are to be understood in a
"parenthesis" to verse 15) that many do not want to read, or they
ignore it, because of false teachers that have taught them false
doctrines of the FULL way of salvation. Paul say, "For not the
hearers (only) of the law, are justified before God, but the
DOERS of the law shall be justified" (verses 12-13).
It is not that we "earn" justification" by "law keeping" -
but we are justified or forgiven our sins and made at-one with
God, through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus and His shed blood
on the cross for our sins. But ONLY those who will then move on
and will have the attitude of mind as to want to obey truth and
righteousness, will God apply the blood sacrifice of Jesus' death
to their sins. God sees the heart, He wants REPENTANCE from sin
and the wrong way of living, to an attitude of mind that will
want to serve and live His way of life. Only those with that
change of heart and mind will God justify through Jesus Christ.
Paul here demonstrates that even the Gentiles which did not
have a direct revelation from God, like Israel did, concerning
His law, often enacted some of God's laws, as through human logic
- many without the knowledge of God can see that "stealing
from each other" is not a good thing to do, nor is going around
"killing" people good for their society. So, Paul is arguing, if
this is the case with those who did not "know" God, then it is
more important for those who have had God's "law" revealed to
them. You must be willing to be a law abiding person if you want
to be granted forgiveness or justification.
It is like this, if the judge forgives you for a traffic
violation (say, going through a red light), he is not declaring
you can go through all the red light you like from then on out.
To have his pardon you must be willing to live within the law.
Verse 16 is connected to verse 12. Those who have the way
of the Lord revealed to them, the revealed law of God, will be
judged by that law, "in the day" when God shall judge all people
by Jesus Christ. You may recall Jesus saying in the Gospels that
"all judgment" had been given to Him by the Father.
Paul now gets specific towards "Jews" who often boasted that
they had an "inner circle" position with God, so they could
instruct others of His ways. It was not much good teaching
others not to steal if they were themselves stealing, or teaching
others not to practice adultery if they were guilty of doing it.
If they were boasting by having God's law, then that very law
convicted them of breaking that law. They were being hypocrites
and so the Gentiles would then blaspheme God, laugh at the God
the Jews held up as being the one and only true God (verses
16-24).
For the Jews to put their confidence and trust in physical
circumcision, as somehow showing they were the children of God,
was to Paul, utter falsehood and meaningless. For, some physical
act on some skin of the body could not possibly make one who is
living in conflict to God's law, a child of God, or put them in
"spiritual" at-one-ment with the Almighty. A true spiritual Jew,
Paul said, was not of the physical flesh but of the mind and
heart and spirit of a person. God indeed looks at the heart not
the flesh (verses 25-29).
Let me put it all another way:
(adding this in April 2011)
Verse 12. Paul is simply saying if you sin not knowing the law (not being called to salvation)
you will just die not being called. But if you know the law (being called to salvation)
and you sin in the law (just refuse God's calling, or believe you can live practicing sin)
you are then judged by the law (sin remains - you are unforgiven - you face the second death).
As Paul goes on to say if you just hear the law (hear the Gospel but it goes in one ear and
out the other - not being called - blindness still not taken away) but do not act - you ain't
going to be forgiven - come under grace. Only those who act upon the law or gospel -
who live or practice the way of life of God - who go on to be chosen - will be forgiven
and justified - come under grace.
Paul continues - so some Gentiles just from natural nature know it is not wise to kill others
(say from another tribe) as the other tribe will kill in revenge.
Oh, now verses 13-15 should be in ( ) it is a parenthetical thought. Paul showing that just
hearing or having some points of the law in your natural society does not justify you, in
salvation, although you at least follow those laws you know, at least your not a hypocrite.
He is telling his readers who are supposed to be Christians that the only way you can be
saved, justified - forgive - come under grace - is to PRACTICE the law. If you have been called
and you KNOW the law (law and grace truth) and you do not practice it - you will be
judged by that law. He is correcting the idea that some were already having, that grace
did away with law - you did not have to practice it and could sin willfully. See the previous
verses 1-11.
Verse 12 should be connected to verse 16. "....and as many as have sinned in the law
(being called - blindness removed) shall be judged by the law. In the day when God shall
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
He is talking to the Jews of Rome (who have said they are Christians) and have vanity in
being Jews, because they had some knowledge of God's truth, were given the law,
saying they knew His will, boasting in God; BUT they (these Christian Jews at Rome)
were turning God's grace into a license to live in sin. Knowing one thing, but doing another,
saying one thing but doing another (which even the Gentiles at least observed some of the
laws of God, from natural common sense knowledge and were not hypocrites). But here
were Christian Jews, having a past history of God's word, truths and knowledge, but they
were saying one thing and doing another, they were proud in God but were really hypocrites.
The context of the whole chapter is to correct Christian Jewish hypocrites. Just because they
were Jews, given knowledge of God and His law, and had some vanity in all that, really meant
NOTHING if they were not LIVING, PRACTICING, the law and truths of God. Notice ---
verse 18 "...knowing his will, ...being instructed out of the law" and "Confident that you are
a guide to the blind, a light of them which are in darkness. And an instructor of the foolish,
teacher of babes, which have a FORM of knowledge and of the truth in the law."
So Paul goes on to say, okay if you want to teacher others do you not teach yourself at
the same time. The rest of the verses show they were claiming to teach others of this law
or that law but all the time they were living, PRACTICING, breaking the law (note it in verses
23,24). These Christian Jews at Rome were already turning the grace of God into a license to sin.
It's the same old Catholic and Protestant teaching we have today - grace does away with law,
or the law has been abolished. Paul spent chapter upon chapter in Romans to prove such a
teaching was as false a doctrine as you could possibly get.
And in this chapter he brings in that even some pagan people had more sense about law,
than some of the Christian Jews at Rome. Those Gentiles would simply die without being called -
they were not going to be judged by the law, because they really did not know the full truths of God,
were not being called, were still in blindness per se.
But the Christian Jews at Rome.....wow they were in some deep trouble, because first they had
a past history of knowing God in a much greater way than pagan Gentiles, and now that they were
called and claimed to be Christians, and had some proudness being Jews, Paul was aware that
many of such, were not LIVING, PRACTICING, what they preached. They were turning the
grace of God into a license to live in sin. And other chapters in Romans, Paul cames back to the
same topic, over and over - being under grace does not mean we can practice living in sin.
And using your Jewishness or being Jewish made such a teaching even more disgraceful.
Paul was combating Jewish vanity of Christian Jews, at Rome, who were thinking they could
teach others the right way of God while they themselves were living, practicing as a way of life, sin.
As Jude later said, turning the grace of God into a license to sin.
(This was added in April 2011)
CHAPTER THREE
So the argument would possibly come back to Paul, "What
advantage then had the Jews, why did God call a specific people
to Himself and reveal to them His ways and laws, if it was of the
heart that God looked and not in any way to the physical people
He had chosen so long ago?"
Ah, there was an advantage said the apostle, not really
anything spiritual per se, but to them, the Jews, the oracles or
ways of God had been committed. They had them and they were
intended by God to preserve them, which they certainly had done
by writing them down or passing them on from generation to
generation. Even if some did not believe in God and His
righteousness and laws, did that mean they could not
preserve the oracles of God? Paul answers by saying, "God
forbid!" It was to be a divine miracle shall we say, that the
oracles of God would be preserved through the Jews, the
Lord would make sure they preserved it all correctly, as to the
nuts and bolts in a figure of speech, but not the "added
traditions" that the Jewish leaders invented at times. But
God would make sure that the nuts and bolts of His truth would be
preserved through human people, in this instance the Jews, who
have preserved the Old Testament.
Then some argued that Paul taught a kind of "grace of God
which was amplified by sin" - given more glory because of sin, so
they argued Paul was teaching that you should sin MORE so God's
grace and goodness to forgive through Christ, could be even
more glorious. To them Paul was saying, "Let us do evil that good
may come of it." Paul taught NO such idea or doctrine (verses
1-8).
Now Paul precedes to go into a LONG explanation of sin, the
law, justification, Christ's sacrifice, and the spiritual
symbolism of water baptism. He precedes to show that the teaching
of "works to justification by law observance" is an incorrect
theology, but at the same time, the theology of teaching that
justification through Christ's sacrifice does AWAY with having to
obey the law, is just as incorrect.
In verses 9-19 he uses the familiar Scriptures to them
then, the Old Testament, to prove that no matter who you are,
EVERYONE on earth, now and before, were and are sinners. The
Scriptures used are: Ps. 14:1-3; 5:9; Jer. 5:16; Ps.140:3; Ps.
10:7; Prov. 1:16; Isaiah 59:7,8; Ps. 36:1; Job.5:16; Ps.107:42.
All the world is guilty of breaking God's law, and those who
then have God's law and word, to read and study, should know
clearly that this is the truth of the matter. It is from looking
into the law, letting it be a looking glass for us, that we can
ascertain what sin IS. And so as Paul says in verse 20, by doing
the deeds of the law, after we look into it, no one can be
justified or forgiven sins, or made at-one with God. The law does
not "acquit" you - "forgive" you - it only reveals to you where
you have missed the mark, where you have broken the law, and so
shows that you are guilty.
If you break a number of traffic laws, and you see the laws
written on the books so to speak, you realize you are a law
breaker, and are under the penalty of breaking those laws. Just
because you now start to obey them, does not automatically cancel
and make void, the penalty you have incurred for breaking those
laws. So it is with God's law. It shows you that you are a
sinner, and have the penalty of sin hanging over you for
breaking those laws. Turning around and observing them, doing the
deeds of the law, does not justify or forgive the penalty of
breaking them.
Paul then explains what the "law and the prophets" (Old
Testament) always said and foretold, that justification or
forgiveness of sins, and being righteous in God's sight,
would be accomplished not by "law works" or "law obedience" but
by "faith of Jesus Christ" to those who believe that sins are
forgiven by His sacrifice for sins on the cross.
Because all have sinned and so incurred the penalty for sin,
no amount of law keeping can cancel those sins, just as I
explained above. So, justification or being righteous in the
sight of the Lord, can only be by His grace through the
redemption work of Christ Jesus (verses 21-24).
It is like this. You have broken the traffic laws, you have
a penalty hanging over you for those transgressions. The laws
have condemned you to face the penalty for breaking them. The
judge of the land has a son who is willing to take the penalties
upon himself, hence you can have those transgressions forgiven,
by having faith in the judge's son that he has indeed taken your
broken laws upon himself and paid the penalty. So, it is through
the judge's grace you can be forgiven and be declared righteous,
be looked upon as if you had never broken those laws.
Paul says in verse 25 and 26, that God set forth Christ to
be that atoning work, by having faith in His shed blood for your
sins, and so the goodness of God is thus manifested for the
cancelling of the past sins you did. Now you are looked upon by
the judge (the heavenly Father) as being sinless and righteous,
just as if you had never broken any laws in the first place.
Under that system, that was always the plan of God, for your
justification, there can never be any boasting, for it was truly
only by the judge's grace you are forgiven, and not in any way by
working at law-keeping to EARN your forgiveness of sins. So the
simple conclusion to it all is that forgiveness of sins, being
justified, is done without the deeds of the law (verses 27,28).
Going back to our example of traffic violations on your
part, you cannot come to the judge and say that you have now
obeyed the law of not going through red lights, say a thousand
times, and have so earned the right to be forgiven of the one
time you disobeyed that law before you kept it a thousand times.
The laws of the land, breaking them, incurring a penalty, and
then obeying them, do NOT work in any automatic way to cancel the
transgressions, just because you obeyed them. A "murderer" is not
automatically forgiven of the one murder he did, just because he
kept the law of not murdering, ten thousand times after he
deliberately killed someone. Hence it is not possible that law
keeping can forgive you of the penalty you deserve for the times
you broke the law.
God is one God of ALL people, Paul argues, and so His way of
forgiving you of sins is the same for all people. So if you were
of the circumcision people - Jews, or if of the un-circumcised
people - Gentiles, both are justified, forgiven sins, and so
righteous in His sight, by FAITH in and through Jesus as the
judge's son who took all sins of all people, upon himself. The
Judge and the Son make it possible for your sins to be cancelled,
and so it is indeed by grace you can be righteous in God's sight,
and not by working at the deeds of the law to amass more "good
points" than bad ones, and so somehow automatically earn
forgiveness of sins (verses 29-30).
Naturally, this truth that Paul is explaining, would be
jumped upon by some to say that this theology of Paul's would
mean you do not need to OBEY the law. Paul answers this
anticipated argument right away by stating, "Do we then make VOID
the law through faith? GOD FORBID! No, we ESTABLISH the law"
(verse 31).
The faith we exhibit towards God, must be a faith that LEADS
to a mind-set that is willing to OBEY or establish the law.
After you are forgiven by the judge through his son, all your
traffic violations, both of them expect you will go forth with
that faith and OBEY the traffic laws. That is how the law,
transgression of the law, and forgiveness of those
transgressions, would work in any normal country in our world
today, if in the context of what we are leaning here from Paul.
Grace, and faith in that grace or mercy, does NOT mean you
can henceforth live as a law breaker, not at all, in fact it
means the very opposite - you go forth with that faith
and OBEY the law.
This was the END result of what Paul said was the true
understanding of justification by faith.
He then wanted to hammer home more about the truth of
justification by faith, and went to the example of one of the
Jew's fathers - the great servant of God - Abraham.
..........................
May 2004
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy-one:Paul writes Romans cont'd - Part three
CHAPTER FOUR
ABRAHAM'S JUSTIFICATION
If Abraham was justified or forgiven sins and made at right
standing with God, by earning it through working at law
obedience, so God was forced to "pay forgiveness wages" to
Abraham through works, then there was not much to glorify God in,
for to him that works for something and gets paid for his work,
in this case forgiveness of sins, then sins are not forgiven by
"grace" (undeserved forgiveness) but by earning it through works.
But Paul argues, Abraham was NOT justified by earning it but
by the grace of God, for the Scripture said that Abraham BELIEVED
God, had FAITH in God's way of justification from sins, and so
was forgiven and made righteous or at-one with God, as if he had
never sinned. So a person does not have to work at getting "ex"
number of "good points" in order to be forgiven of sins, but it
is FAITH in the way that the Lord said a person would be
justified, that is, the way to be declared righteous or sinless.
Paul says that even the great king David knew the way that
was determined before-hand by God to be made righteous or
sinless, and it was not by a system of "earning it through works"
- so it really was a blessing for someone when God would forgive
iniquities and not bring to account or claim the debt of sins to
be paid - which would be the debt of death (see chapter 6:23)
(verses 1-8).
If the judge makes you work by saying you must obey the red
stop light a thousand times before the one offence you committed
by going through the red light, is forgiven, then you have
"earned" by "works" your pardon or forgiveness of the offence,
But if the judge offers you pardon through the grace of his son
who paid the penalty for your offence, then you are forgiven of
the offence by "grace" and your "faith" in that gracious way
provided for you by the judge and his son. You have not "worked"
at traffic law keeping to be justified, but you have been show
grace, and so your faith in that grace, makes you forgiven, and
so you stand before the judge as righteous, or as if never having
offended in the law in the first place.
This is the nut shell of what the Scriptures taught on
justification with God, and hence, what Paul was teaching as to
the truth of the matter on the subject.
WHERE DID PHYSICAL CIRCUMCISION
FIT INTO ALL THIS?
The Jews relied heavily upon the rite of physical
circumcision. As we have seen there were some who believed
circumcision was "a must" in order to be saved. They could see in
their history that circumcision started with their great father
Abraham, so to them the rite just had to be a necessary "work" to
be justified.
Paul had argued correctly that NO works by Abraham earned
him justification, and in fact Abraham was justified by FAITH,
not by working at any law keeping, so the next question Paul
brings to bear on this whole subject is WHEN was Abraham declared
righteous, sinless, or justified? Was it when he was circumcised
or un-circumcised? The answer is clearly given in Genesis. It was
when he was UN-circumcised! Reading Genesis chapter 12 and
there-after will make this very plain. After Abraham was declared
righteous, THEN the rite of physical circumcision came, and it
was therefore a sign or seal, that he had righteousness by FAITH.
This showed the true light of the circumcision sign. That
physical rite had in no way given Abraham righteousness or
justification with God. Abraham was ALREADY justified
with God BEFORE the rite of circumcision was introduced upon
himself and all his physical descendants, the male descendants of
course.
So argues Paul, Abraham is the father of justification by
faith to all, Jew or Gentile, that BELIEVE or have faith in
justification by God's grace through Christ. Even if people
are not circumcised, if they have faith as Abraham did, then
being un-circumcised meant nothing as far as being justified or
forgiven of sins before God.
The promise given to Abraham that he should be heir of the
world (another way of saying eternal life with inheritance of the
world and universe - as many Scriptures in both Old and New
Testament clearly promise) was not through working at "works of
law" - earning it all as a kind of payment for doing certain
deeds, but was through the process of having faith, that
salvation and eternal life would be by God's grace, via the
sacrifice for sins of the Son of God, who would come to take the
sins of all mankind upon Himself and so pay the death sentence
penalty, of those sins.
Paul keeps going over this truth again and again, just
coming from it in different ways and from different angles. The
bottom line he states again. If salvation and justification from
sins is earned by observing laws, then faith has no part in it,
and so the promise to Abraham that it would be by faith, is made
void, and the promise of salvation and forgiveness of sins coming
through having faith, was all useless talk by God, and is totally
of no effect.
Then looking at it from another point of view, Paul says in
verse 15, that trying to attain salvation and justification by
law keeping (any laws, physical or moral) would only bring WRATH
and doom shall we say, because a law can only reveal what
breaking it will result in....wrath, a penalty. Obvious he says,
if there is no law, there is no transgression of breaking that
law. If there is no law that says you must stop at the red light,
you cannot be breaking that law if there is no law to tell you to
stop at red lights. But there IS such a law. And so with God's
law. It IS there and unless you have NEVER ever broken it, and
never ever will break it, that law can only being wrath or doom
or punishment on you. As no one can observe the law of God
PERFECTLY, every second and minute of their life, so everyone
sooner or later will be a breaker of the law, and hence incur its
penalty, which is wrath or as Paul puts it in chapter
6:23....DEATH!
I have shown that no matter how many times you obey the law
of stopping at red lights, all those law keeping deeds, cannot
erase, forgive, justify you in the sight of the judge, for the
few times you broke the law and did not stop at red lights. A law
does not have "grace" or "mercy" built into it. Grace or mercy or
forgiveness from law breaking MUST come from OUTSIDE of the law
itself (verses 9-15).
I am spending a LOT of time on this correct explanation of
justification with God, as Paul had to spend a lot of time on it.
As in his day, so it is today, people on the whole are really
mixed up on the subject, and partly, or even in the main, people
are confused and mixed up on the matter because the "religious
leaders" WILL NOT teach and tell the people the truth of the
matter on this essential and FOUNDATIONAL doctrine of God. It
is not really that hard to understand at all. Many in the none
religious world have no problem understanding LAW and GRACE, and
HOW the TWO work together to make a perfect whole. How law and
grace work together in the none Christian world is exactly the
same as how law and grace work together in God's spiritual world
of law and grace. The only big difference is that God is far MORE
GRACIOUS, far more merciful, far more FORGIVING, upon REPENTANCE
and FAITH, so no penalty by us, needs to be enforced, than the
judges and laws of this world. You may repent for robbing a bank
of 10,000 dollars, but I doubt the judge or the courts of the
land would let you go without paying some penalty, just because
you had repented of the misdeed.
So, the apostle goes on, it was always God's design that
salvation would be by GRACE through FAITH, not only to those
people like the Jews, who had the law of God revealed to them,
but also to anyone who was of the faith of Abraham.
Abraham had faith in what the Lord had promised to him, and
can even bring back people from death, and call those things as
done already which are yet to be done. With God His promises are
so certain that even if they are to take place way into the
future, you can say they are already as if done (verses 16-17).
Abraham BELIEVED God when He told him that he would be a
father of MANY nations. Abraham was about ONE hundred years old,
and Sarah his wife's womb was way passed the age of
child-bearing. How could they, between them, have a son? How
could they produce offspring that would eventually be many
nations. To the human logical mind, this would be utterly
IMPOSSIBLE! But Abraham did not DOUBT God's promise, he did not
stagger at what the Lord had said, that he and Sarah would indeed
have a physical son, born from the two of them, from Abraham's
seed and from Sarah's womb. He had full faith in what God had
promised. He knew the Eternal was able to perform it. Also, the
one who would come to die for the sins of the world, the very Son
of God, was to be from Abraham's physical descendants. Faith was
manifested by Abraham, and so that faith, was accounted to him as
righteousness. In other words, he was forgiven of sins,
justified, and declared as only righteous, before God, by FAITH.
He was not forgiven of sins by keeping some law a thousand times,
and so earning the right to be forgiven. It was not through some
work of law keeping, but through FAITH in what God had promised,
that Abraham was justified.
All of this Paul says was not written down just for the sake
of Abraham, but especially for those who would come after
Abraham, who could also be justified through faith. Through
having faith in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Having faith that Jesus was determined from the beginning to be
delivered up in sacrifice for our sins, and was raised from the
dead, for our forgiveness of sins, or justification (verses
18-25).
The last verses above of this chapter four, is Paul's
nut-shell of all the truth of that which he has been discussing,
which has been justification by grace through faith, in the
promise of God that the Messiah Jesus would come to die for the
sins of ALL mankind. That He would take OUR sins upon Himself.
The judge's son would take our penalty for breaking all those
laws of not stopping at the red lights. So having FAITH in that
plan of the judge and of his son, we could then be shown grace,
be forgiven, not have to pay the penalty for law breaking.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Therefore," says Paul, "Being justified by FAITH, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
What peace it is. We do not have to try and mark up for
ourselves a thousand "good deeds of law" to erase one sin.
Anything along that line for justification with God, would surely
be a yoke of a burden that would be unbearable. But we stand in
God's grace, and we rejoice in the hope of the promise of
wonderful glory that shall yet be ours. And because of the glory
we shall obtain, we can endure and even have some good feelings
about tribulations we often go through in this life time. We also
know that tribulations - trials, tests, and troubles, can work
godly endurance in us. We move through one of them and we come
out the other side a stronger Christian, for we have learnt to
walk with God and serve Him, even when things in life are hard
and difficult. Endurance through trials gives us experience, we
learn lessons, we learn how to manage situations, where to be
wise, what to do or say the correct thing, where we have made
wrong choices, so not to repeat them. We then can have full
assurance of the expected hope, and not a "hope" as if "a maybe"
- but it is an assured hope based on facts that our faith
is founded upon. The fact that we do have God's love in our
heart, we have His Spirit, and we KNOW that we were doomed in our
sins, we had no strength on our own, no amount of law keeping
could erase our sins. But Jesus Christ did come as appointed in
God's time, to die for sinners.
Now and again Paul says, a man may die for another fellow he
considers a "good" or "righteous" person. Look at all the police
officers and fire-fighters, who put their lives on the line each
day, to perhaps save the life of someone they would probably
consider an upright, good person of our land. But God showed love
towards us in sending His Son (and remember the Son had just as
much love, in being willing to come) to DIE for us, while we were
great SINNERS! It was like a police-person willing to die for a
bunch of foul murderers in some maximin prison somewhere.
We are then justified or forgiven of past sins through the
blood of Jesus, and we shall also be saved from the wrath to come
(upon unrepentant sinners) through this same Jesus. What does
Paul mean? He goes on to explain, with the connecting word
"For" - "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
(justified, forgiven) to God by the DEATH of His Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by HIS LIFE!" (verses 1-10).
Many do not understand ALL the saving power in Jesus. They
can understand up to His death and His sacrifice on the cross,
His shed blood, but they are lost when it comes to understanding
Paul's statement, "we shall be saved by His LIFE." They know
of His death for sins, but they do not know of His LIFE for sins,
or what being saved by His life means.
Paul explains it all, and so do other apostles in their
writings of what we call the New Testament. As you read the whole
New Testament the truth becomes plain. I will try to explain it
in relatively few words.
You come to realize through the mirror of God's word and His
law, that you are a sinner, you have come under the death penalty
for being a sinner. No amount of law observing can forgive you of
all the sins you have committed. You see that God sent His Son to
live in the flesh, and to take all the sins you have done upon
HImself. You realize Jesus died and had His blood shed on the
cross, to pay the death penalty for your sins. You have faith in
that sacrifice of Christ. You have repented of being a sinner.
God accepts your repentance and faith. He shows you grace through
Jesus' death on the cross. You have now been forgiven of sins and
justified or made righteous before the Father.
Faith and grace does not abolish the law. You now go forth
as being righteous, as sinless, but sooner or later through the
weakness of the flesh, you again sin. What can you do? Has the
Father provided a way for you to be forgiven or justified from
the sins you now find that you sometimes do as a Christian? Yes
indeed.
Jesus was raised from the dead. He ascended to the right
hand of the Father in heaven. He now has the office of High
Priest. He is there in heaven interceding on our behalf. He knows
what it is like to be human, He knows the things that can trip us
up, and make us sin, He had and experienced all these things, yet
He remained sinless. He can then be a faithful interceding High
Priest on our behalf.
We come in humble heartedness to confess our sins before the
Father, as we sin during our walk as a Christian. Jesus pleads
our case for us before the Father. The Father sees our attitude
of wanting to serve Him and live His way. He accepts Christ's
work as High Priest, and applies more of Jesus' shed blood to our
new sins. We again have grace shown to us, we are again forgiven
or justified. This is the way it is until our physical death.
So Jesus being raised from the dead was ABSOLUTELY
necessary. We NEED His LIFE as High Priest, interceding for us.
Without this part of the salvation plan, we could not be fully
and finally saved into God's Kingdom. See again 1 Corinthians 15
for Paul's powerful and dogmatic statements that if Jesus had NOT
been raised from the dead we would be in our sins, we would have
NO hope of eternal life.
The LIFE of Christ is just as important to our salvation as
His death. It is a TWO PART salvation, the DEATH and the LIFE of
Jesus. One part WITHOUT the other cannot bring salvation to any
person who has ever lived.
Grace through Christ, His death and life, and our faith in
that grace of God as applied to our sins as we live through our
Christian walk, is how we are saved by grace through faith, as
Paul put it in Ephesians 2:8, and it is NOT through earning it by
works, doing more good works than bad works, or some other ideas
of "works" somehow being able to abolish our sins. No, we are
reconciled to God by the death of Christ and we shall have our
sins we commit after that reconciliation, abolished by the life
of Jesus as our High Priest, interceding and pleading for us, and
more of His shed blood covering our sins.
Probably the key section of Scripture to go with this one
here in Romans is 1 John 1:6-2:6.
Put the two together and you have the truth as to HOW and
WHY both the DEATH and the LIFE of Jesus is absolutely necessary
for our salvation and inheritance into the Kingdom of God.
Knowing all this truth Paul said, did bring joy in God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have this at-one-ment
(verse 10).
Next, Paul shows the greater abundance of grace over sin and
works. Sin entered the world through one man - Adam, and since
that time, every single person had sinned (of course Christ is
the exception, but Paul knows he need not even mention that, for
it was known by all his readers). He shows that the nature of sin
and hence a law (remember he had said that where there is no law
there is no sin or transgression - chap.4:15) did exist before
the Old Covenant law was given to Israel under Moses. Sin
was in the world, and there must have been a law for he states
sin is not counted when there is no law. Death he says, did
reign from Adam to Moses, and it is a simple matter to put 1 John
3:4 together with Romans 6:23 and these verses here, to
understand that God's law was from the beginning.
Then he says, the grace of God is much greater than the
offense. If sin was great because all have sinned, then grace is
even greater. Sin came in by one man, and grace came in by one
man - Jesus the Christ. Sin can only bring judgement and
condemnation, but the FREE gift of grace brings justification or
forgiveness of sins. It is only common sense then that grace is
far GREATER than sins. And that grace was manifested by one
man - Jesus.
Sin was by one man, the righteousness of one other man, He
who overcame sin in the flesh, never sinned - Christ, brings
justification. It is through a person, not through works of laws,
that justification from sins can be given to mankind. Being made
righteous, declared as if never having sinned, is through a
PERSON not through some other way invented by the minds of men.
Paul says, that the law of the Old Covenant came into being
in part to show the magnification of offence and sin, but even
though it was magnified by that law of the Old Covenant, grace
still did much more abound. Obviously that which can abolish sins
is greater than that which brings sin, if it was not, then sins
would remain.
Sin did reign in one respect for a while, but grace
overpowered sin and it has come to reign through righteousness
(and that was the righteous perfect life of Jesus) unto eternal
life, all by the life and the death, and the life again of Jesus
Christ our Lord (verses 12-21).
CHAPTER SIX
Paul anticipated the argument - "Well okay then, let's do
more sins so grace will be extolled and can abound even more in
our sight."
To the apostle, such a thought was abhorrent.
............................
May 2004
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy-two:Paul writes Romans - Part four
CHAPTER SIX
SYMBOLISM OF WATER BAPTISM
Paul anticipated the argument coming back at him for what he
had taught about grace and justification, that if his position
was correct, then people should practice MORE sin so grace could
be glorified even more. His fast and immediate answer to this
was, "GOD FORBID!" He said that those who had died to sin could
no longer live in sin. He goes on to explain this sentence.
It all has to do with water baptism, and what that rite
pictured or symbolized. Being baptized in water, immersed fully
under water, which correct water baptism does (the New Testament
Church of God knew no such practice as sprinkling a few drops of
water over someone to baptize them, even the large and very old
Roman Catholic church for many centuries of the Christian age,
baptized with full immersion. This fact can be found in the
Catholic Encyclopedia), pictures our dying with Christ. If we did
not come up from under the water we would die, and as it is done
in the name of Jesus, Paul says, "as were baptized into Jesus
Christ, were baptized into His death" (verses 1-3).
As Jesus was raised from the dead by the Father, so we are
raised from the watery grave so to speak, to have a NEW life that
we are to walk in. Jesus was raised to a new glorified life, and
as we have died in Him in water baptism, so we shall be one
day in the likeness of His glory (see 1 John 3:1-3 on that
matter, and 1 Corinthians 15 which we have covered in previous
chapters), which to Paul meant that Christians now have a new
life to live after they are baptized.
Verse six say it all. Our old man with its sins was
crucified or put to death in Him through water baptism. Going
under the water symbolized that we were willing to put the
old sinful man to death, to destroy sin, that we "might not serve
sin." It is as plain as the nose on your face as we say, that
baptism means we are willing to NOT SERVE sin any longer, that we
HENCEFORTH have a different mind-set, one that wants to go in the
opposite direction of serving sin. And by putting a few
Scriptures together we can understand the New Testament
definition of what sin IS - see 1 John 3:4; James 2:10-12.
We are then to have a mind-set of wanting to obey the Ten
Commandments (and we must remember that the Ten commandments are
amplified or magnified by the whole Bible, so it is indeed a
mind-set of doing what Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 - that is
"living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God").
Paul gives the illustration that if we be physically dead,
we can no longer sin. Then he proceeds to our being dead in
Christ. Our water baptism was as if we died with Christ on the
cross, and so being "dead with Him" in a figure, we shall also
"live with Him" in another figure of speech. As Jesus was raised
from the dead, and He died because HE took all our sins upon
Himself and died the penalty of sin for us, which penalty was
death. But now He is alive again, raised from the dead, in
glorified eternal life, death can never touch Him. He is
completely free from sin ever being able to tempt Him, let alone
perhaps sin (remember the Scriptures teach in the book of Hebrews
that Jesus was tempted in all points like us, but never sinned).
Now being raised from death to immortal life, Jesus is free from
even the temptation to sin. Christ died to sin, or for our sins,
once upon the tree, but now lives as God lives, never to sin or
even be tempted with sin. It is a life where sin is not even
there in any sense period (verses 4-10).
The following verses of Paul are so plain and so easy to
understand, when we know what sin IS, then even little children
can understand what Paul is clearly saying in verses 11-14. I
will quote them from the "New Living Translation" published by
Tyndale House.
"So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to
live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let
sin control the way you live, do not give in to its lustful
desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of
wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves
completely to God since you have been given new life.
And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for
the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you are
no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin.
Instead, you are free by God's grace."
God has through Christ delivered us from the law that
enslaved us to death, for the law had said to the judge that we
were guilty of breaking it, we had sinned, and were so condemned
or enslaved to have the penalty of law breaking applied to us. We
had gone through many red stop lights, and were now enslaved or
captured by the policeman's law radar detector, and were found
guilty of breaking the law, and so the penalty of breaking the
law was upon us. But the judge had given us grace, or mercy,
through his son, who had be willing to pay our law breaking fine
for us, in our stead. We were free by grace from the sin we had
committed, and so now we were to have a mind-set that wanted to
never break the law again, that wanted to never sin again. We are
now to yield our body and mind and life to being like an
instrument in God's hands that only produces the righteousness of
God (again see Ps.119:172 for one definition of righteousness).
Being under the "grace" of the judge would mean we were willing
to put sin away, and never want to serve sin again, we would now
have the desire and heart to not obey sin, but just the opposite,
to obey righteousness.
Paul says in verse 15, that we "are not under the law but
under grace." How this phrase has been misused by so many over
the years is a classic example of the silly, Biblically
uneducated people, who claim to be guides and leaders in Bible
understanding and in the way of the Lord concerning salvation.
They are instead truly as Jesus said of the same type of
individuals in His day, "blind leaders of the blind" who both
shall fall into the pit.
Whatever Paul is saying here in this verse, it does concern
SIN! And he clearly says ONCE MORE, that in all that he has been
teaching, that if the argument is put forth that being under
grace means we can serve sin more and more, then he answers loud
and emphatically....GOD FORBID!!
Putting Scripture with Scripture, we have already seen what
sin IS. Breaking the law of God, the Ten Commandments, is
sinning. Paul is in this section of his epistle, making the point
that a Christian being baptized and starting on a new life, must
put away sin, must not serve sin, so he CANNOT be here in verse
15, stating you can have the mind-set to NOT obey the law of God.
It is obvious from the CONTEXT, that "we are not under the law,
but under grace" does NOT mean we can live and practice a way of
life that breaks the law of the Lord. The ONLY meaning of this
phrase can be that as we are delivered from the penalty of
breaking the law, which hung over us, as we are under or have
been given grace, mercy, forgiveness, of our sin of law breaking,
we cannot now go ahead and live a life of sin, or law breaking.
The judge in giving you grace or forgiveness for going through a
number of red lights, is NOT giving you the freedom to continue
to go through any and all red lights you come to, as you now have
his grace.
Paul goes on to make what he has just stated about grace and
law and sin very easy to understand and never to mis-apply what
he is teaching on the matter. I will give you verses 16-23 from
the "New Living Translation."
"Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes
your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or
you can choose to obey God and receive His approval. Thank
God! Once you were slaves to sin, but now you have obeyed
with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now
you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become
slaves to your new master, righteousness. I speak this way,
using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is
easy to understand. Before, you let yourselves be slaves of
impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves
of righteousness so that you will become holy. In those
days when you were slaves of sin, you weren't concerned with
doing what is right. And what was the result? It was not
good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to
do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free
from the power of sin and have become slaves to God. Now you
do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal
life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
It is really simple to understand if you really want to
understand. The Bible tells us what sin IS and what righteousness
IS. I have given you those Scriptures that interpret for us sin
and righteousness. Paul is clearly saying that when we are
forgiven of our sins through the grace of God via the blood
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we must have a new mind-set, which is
one of turning from living the way of sin and turning to obey the
righteousness of God. How people can try to say that Paul was the
teacher who abolished the law of God, the Ten Commandments, is to
me the hight of New Testament ignorance. Then again I know the
reason some have this theology. It is because they will not obey
the FOURTH of the Ten Commandments, and so will twist themselves
into every contortion they can possibly come up with to teach
others that the law of God is abolished under the New Covenant.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Paul now draws on a point of the law, the Old Covenant in
this case, not the law of the Ten Commandments per se, because it
has to do with marriage and re-marriage. He tells them that they
should know the law applies only to a person who is still living.
He illustrates with the basic law of marriage. In a general sense
the law bound a woman to her husband till death. If he died then
the laws of marriage no longer applied, she could re-marry, but
if she tried to do this when he was alive, she would be
committing adultery.
Before we proceed with exactly what Paul was illustrating
with all this, I want to mention that the law Paul was stating
about marriage, was a GENERAL statement only.
Most people are unaware of the principle of "general
statements" in the Bible. There are dozens and dozens of them. An
example would be this; the New Testament states "It is given unto
men to die once, and after this the judgement." This is a general
statement, for we know that a number of people in the Bible were
raised from the dead to physical life again (the famous example
is Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead), hence those people died
TWICE. Another general statement is that which has perplexed
many, found in the book of Proverbs; "Train up a child in the way
he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
This is also a general statement, because it is a fact of life
that some parents have trained very well their children or child
in the way of the Lord, the way they should go, when they were
children, but the child or children, never accepted that way in
which they should go, and died (young or old) as un-converted
none Christians. The frustrating problem that many parents have
had over this verse is put to rest and peace, when we understand
that it is a general statement only. It does not apply in every
case.
So this example of Paul here about what many claim is THE
ONLY law of marriage and re-marriage - death of one of the
parties. Such is not the case, for Paul was taking his example
from "the law" - the Old Covenant, and the fact is the Old
Covenant under Moses DID ALLOW for DIVORCE and RE-marriage is
certain situations. This can be easily seen from reading the
ENTIRE Old Testament. What Paul was doing was giving a general
statement example in marriage. To cover the exceptions to the
general rule would only have clouded what Paul was illustrating
for his main point, which was not really anything to do with
marriage and re-marriage per se.
Now to what Paul was getting at. He explains in verses 4-6.
And once more here is where many have very badly not understood
Paul. Many say this is another section where he "abolishes" the
law of the Ten Commandments. Of course if such people would
read verses 7-25, and see that Paul in his mind-set ready did
want to obey the law of God, and admitted it was holy, the
commandments were holy, just and good, then they would seek for
the true understanding of verses 1-6.
From verse 4 to 6 is Paul's explanation of verses 1-3.
Before you died in a figure with Christ on the cross, you were
held in the power of the law. Now what power does the law have?
Can the law talk to you? No, it cannot. Can the law say you are
innocent if you break the law? No it can not. Can the law show
mercy to you for transgressing it? No it can not! The only thing
where the law has power over you, is to condemn you for breaking
it. You then before dying in a figure with Christ on the cross,
were held in the condemnation power of the law, in this case of
humanity, it is the penalty of death that the law demands from
you for being a sinner, for breaking the law. You were held under
that power of condemnation, but when in a figure you died with
Christ on the cross, you paid the penalty, it held no more power
over you, you were free from it's power of death, free to marry
another, be united with someone who was raised from the dead to
glorious immortal righteous life. That someone who you can now
also be united with in the same kind of life of righteous living,
is Christ Jesus.
The sinful life is gone, it is dead. You have died through
Christ to that old sin that hung over you, and the penalty which
the law demanded you pay. It's all taken care of, it's all paid
in full, because you died in figure through Jesus' death on the
stake. And now you are free from condemnation to be married to
Him that was raised from death to glorious life that can only
live righteously with God. We are now in a new marriage, with
a new husband, with a new fresh start and with a new mind-set of
leaving behind the husband of sin and death, and being joined to
a husband of perfect righteousness, so we also can as a result,
produce good fruit, good deeds, a good way of living for God.
I will add words in brackets to amplify the "New Living
Translation" of verses 5-6.
"When we were controlled by our old nature (our husband in Paul's
example) sinful desires were at work within us, and the law
aroused these evil desires that produced sinful deeds, resulting
in death (the law stood and beamed a light on sin, even
magnifying it, and then we could see where our desires of sin had
led us to sin, and so then condemned us to death). But now we
have been released from the law, for we died with Christ
(released from its condemnation and penalty, for that is Paul's
context. We in the person of Christ died on the cross, the law's
power of death paid in full, so we are free from that powerful
old husband), and we are no longer captive to its power (yes, the
context of Paul is the law's power, the old husband's power of
death over us). Now we can really serve God (our new husband) not
in the old way by obeying the letter of the law (we may have had
a partial observance of God's law in certain ways - many people
do not murder, or bow before a stone or wooden idol in their back
yard - our old husband may not have been totally evil, but we
were still far from obeying God as He would want us to obey Him),
but in the new way by the Spirit (Jesus came to magnify the law -
see Isa. 42:21. We saw how he magnified it when we went through
the "sermon on the mount" as it is often called - Mat.5,6,7. We
are now married to a new husband - God, and He demands a walk of
life that is in Spirit and in truth - John 4:24. He demands a
serving of Him in a much deeper way than the way we lived under
our old husband)."
GOD'S LAW REVEALS OUR SIN
This is the way the "New Living Translation" heads verses
7-13. I will give you their translation.
"Well, then, am I suggesting that the law of God is evil? Of
course not! The law is not sinful, but it was the law that
showed my sin. I would never have known that coveting is
wrong if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' But sin took
advantage of this law and aroused all kinds of forbidden
desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have
that power. I felt fine when I did not understand what the
law demanded. But when I learned the truth, I realized I had
broken the law and was a sinner, doomed to die. So the good
law, which was supposed to show me the way of life, instead
gave me the death penalty. Sin took advantage of the law and
fooled me; it took the good law and used it to make me
guilty of death. But still, the law itself is holy and
right and good. But how can that be? Did the law which is
good, cause my doom? Of course not! Sin used what was good
to bring about my condemnation. So we can see how terrible
sin really is. It uses God's good commandment for its own
evil purposes."
Ah, yes, this is exactly what I have been bringing out to
you. Paul interprets himself. He knows the law itself is good,
holy, just, and did you notice he said that where there is NO law
there is no power. Obviously if there is no law you cannot break
it. For some to say that the law of God was abolished at the
cross is to say that since the cross there has been no sin, hence
you and I are not sinners, and we need not a Savior. How silly,
how il-logical are some of the reasonings of some Christian
teachers. The law cannot possibly be "done away with" for it is
the law that tells you what sin IS, as Paul has just shown us.
He personifies sin here. Personification is taking an
object, a thing, and making it into as if it is a person. Sin
became a person in a figure of speech, and sin looked at the
law of God and said, well I can take this holy and good and
righteous law, and use it to smash over the head every person,
for if they know the law or if they do not know it, no person has
ever observed it perfectly, they have broken it in one way or
another, and I can use it to condemn them all to the law's
penalty - death. So sin stood before the judge and with a holy
and good law (the law of stopping at red lights is a good law, it
protects us as we travel around the roads. Just think about our
roads not having red and green lights at intersections - what a
mess of accidents and death and injury there would be) said,
"Look all these people have broken this holy law, and so I demand
the penalty for breaking this good law be applied to them. I
demand they all be put to death." Sin as a person used God's holy
law to its own evil end - to condemn us all.
Paul then goes on to say in verse 14, "The law is good then.
The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold
into slavery, with sin as my master" (New Living Translation).
He goes on to say:
"I'm somewhat baffled and amazed, for what I should do I
often don't do, and what I hate I often find myself doing.
If I'm then doing what I should not do, then I have to admit
the law is good. Then I know it is not really the deep
mind-set I have towards good, but it is the nature of sin
that still remains in me. Of myself, in my natural flesh
there is no real help, for I have the right mind-set towards
good, but how to perform it I find not in my natural nature.
For the good I should do, I do not, and the evil I should
not do, I often do. It is the natural sinful self that pulls
me towards doing what I should not do. It is then like an
invisible law, that when I want to do good, evil is still
present with me. In my deep mind-set I delight in the law of
God after the inner heart. But then I see another invisible
law inside of me, making war against the law of my mind's
delight, and it brings me into captivity to the law of sin
that is still inside me. I often feel wretched.
Who shall deliver me from this sinful law of death? I thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is my victory. So it
is with my new mind-set that I serve the law of God; but
with the natural flesh I still serve the law of sin" (my own
paraphrased rendering of verses 15-25).
Paul, as a Christian, under the New Covenant, with Jesus as
Savior, wanted to go the right way, he wanted to SERVE the LAW
(sure did not believe it was abolished) and do what was righteous
and good. At the same time he still had what we often call "human
nature" inside of him, and it was like a law of gravity that
pulled towards doing and going the WRONG way, the way of sin.
There were then TWO gravity laws so to speak, inside of him, each
pulled against the other. And without help from someone, the law
that pulled towards evil often won the battle. But he finished on
the positive....he has someone that can give him victory over the
pulling law of sin, and that someone was Jesus Christ. We
can now put this with that great verse of Galatians 2:20.
Jesus lives in the true Christian and we live by the faith
OF Jesus, His faith IN us, and He within us gives us the victory
in the main (we do as Christians fall at times - see 1 John 1:8
to 2:6) over the law of the pull towards sin.
It is very clear that the whole CONTEXT here shows the LAW
of God, the Ten Commandments has NEVER been abolished.
And being in Christ, or as Paul has said, Christ in us,
leads to no condemnation.
..........................
May 2004
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy-three:Paul writes Romans - Part five
CHAPTER EIGHT
With all that Paul has laid out in the preceding chapters it
is with confidence he says at the start of chapter eight, "There
is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who live not after the flesh, but live after the Spirit."
The law of itself could not save you, it was weak in that
regard, all it could do was reveal to you what sin is. But God
had another law so to speak, a way or a law of the Spirit of
life, to free us from the way or law of sin and death. That way
was to send Jesus in the flesh, to overcome sin in the flesh, to
live a perfect live, a sinless life, and so sin itself was
condemned to have no more power over us. Jesus took our sins upon
Himself and so the power of sin and death was lifted from us. It
was not lifted so we could freely go on sinning, but it was
lifted so the righteousness of the law might be performed and
activated in us, for he says again, that we Christians no longer
walk in accordance with the sinful desires of the flesh, but we
walk, live, after the Spirit, and we know the Spirit of God leads
us to serve and obey God (verses 1-4).
Paul now moves into a somewhat deep discussion of our nature
before we repented, were baptized, and received the Spirit of
God, and the nature we now have as converted Christians with the
Spirit of God. He really looks at the two mind-sets, the one
BEFORE becoming a Christian and the other AFTER we are a
Christian. He shows that after knowing the correct way to
justification, forgiveness, through Christ, we must be led
on to live a different life (in thought, body, words, and deeds)
than the one we lived before we received the Spirit of God. He is
again answering the argument that being saved by grace does NOT
mean we can go on sinning and live our old way of life, that
was so often filled with sin and transgression of God's holy,
just, good, and righteous law.
He says that if you do not let the Spirit of God lead you,
then you will follow the natural mind-set of those without God
and Christ in the world. If the Spirit of God is leading you then
you will live the correct godly way. The two ways are opposite
to each other. Living without the leading of God's Spirit will
bring DEATH, but to have a mind led by the Spirit will bring
LIFE, and peace of mind here and now. This is all so, for he
states to just have a mind without God's Spirit influencing it,
is a mind that does not think about God's ways, does not make any
note of what is right or wrong from the Lord's perspective
of things. The natural mind just does what seems right in its
eyes. It is not focussed on God's law per se. Yes, the natural
mind may not sit down and say it hates God and His laws, the
natural mind may at times do some of the laws of God. Many people
know that to murder someone just because they said a nasty word
to you, is not going to end in a nice way for you.
But overall the natural mind, does not seek and desire to
serve and love and obey the laws of God, for its thoughts are not
thinking about God and His law as such, for the natural mind is
not being led or influenced by the Spirit of God. So in this
respect the natural mind cannot be God's friend, the natural mind
is then in an overall position of being against God, and so as
Paul said, an enemy to God, for it does not seek to be subject to
the law of God.
In a salvation sense then, those who are in a state of only
having a natural mind, a mind that really does not think about
God or His law or His correct way to live, cannot, as for
salvation, please God.
We need to remember that if such persons have never been
called by God, never having their spiritual blindness removed,
then that is God's doing, and so the Lord understanding that, can
give them good things pertaining to this life. It is only in
relation to being saved and having salvation that such carnal,
natural minded people, cannot please God. Certainly He can be
pleased with them if they do not murder other people, or do not
commit adultery, or bow down before some wood or stone idol, or
disrespect their parents. Many people lead a "good life" as we
put it - they do not hate God but do not think about Him either -
still their natural mind is NOT WITH God, hence you will perhaps
remember Jesus saying in the Gospels, "He that is not with me is
against me." So in spiritual salvation matters they cannot please
God (verses 5-8).
What Paul is getting at is that his readers should NO LONGER
be in this condition, living the natural mind-set without
guidance from the Holy Spirit. He says, "But YOU are NOT in the
flesh, but in the SPIRIT, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells
in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ they do
not belong to Him" (verse 9).
He once more says Christians who have Christ are dead
because of sin, they have as we have seen died in Christ who took
our sins, but are also alive again through the Spirit because of
righteousness, because the Spirit working in Christ the righteous
one saved them from death to give them life, and so the Spirit of
power that raised Christ from the dead, will also give eternal
life to whom that Spirit dwells in (verses 10-11).
And what is Paul's deduction for all the grace given to
Christians? It is that they are to live NOT after the ways of the
natural flesh that does not know or does not acknowledge God and
His way of life. For to turn grace into living after the natural
flesh will mean you will die - you will not live in eternity, but
if through the power of the Spirit we kill the works of the
flesh, we shall live in eternity. Adding to this he says that
having the Spirit means we are sons of God and can rightly call
Him "Father." If we are then children of God we are HEIRS of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ, and if we in this life suffer for
His sake, we shall be glorified like He was when He was
resurrected (verses 12-17).
We need to meditate deeply on the words that we are HEIRS of
God and joint- heirs with Christ. Most just do not realize what
is being revealed to us here. Christians are heirs, not of some
angel like Gabriel, but heirs of God the Father Himself. The
Father wants to share with His children ALL that He IS and ALL
that He HAS. Please read 1 John 3:1-3. Christians are one day to
be ABOVE angels! Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, that Christians
were to judge angels. The destiny that God wants for YOU and for
me, is truly mind-bending. Is it then too much that the Lord asks
of us that we serve and obey Him and His holy, just, and good,
law and commandments? I think not!
Paul finished his thought here with saying we must also be
willing to suffer with Jesus, if we want to be glorified with
Him. And this triggers a thought in Paul's mind concerning
sufferings that we may face in this life for Jesus' sake. We have
said that Paul was one of those "different" kind of writers, he
often went off on another thought that came to him while saying
something in a certain context. It is like going on a main road
then taking a side road for a while to view other parts of the
whole travel experience, then coming back on to the main thought
or road again later.
Here Paul brings in "sufferings" with the thought of being
God's son with His Spirit. Enduring now for a time, the
sufferings that may come upon us, is not to be compared
to the GLORY which we shall have one day. In fact he says, the
whole creation is in a figure of speech crying out and longing
for the day when God's children will be glorified, yes, and even
we Christians long for that day. We now have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, a blessed spiritual life, but with patience we wait
for that day when we shall be glorified as Jesus was glorified in
His resurrection. I refer you again to 1 John 3:1-3 (verses 18-
25).
Again, all this puts another thought into Paul's mind, and
that is the answer to the times when, through our sufferings, we
just cannot find the words to express ourselves to God, when we
are so "stressed out" shall we say, that we are "lost for words"
- we get down on our knees to beseech God, and we just do not
seem to be able to put our thoughts into words, or express
ourselves to Him.
In verse 26, 27, Paul tells us that "the Spirit" helps our
human weakness for words at those times, and intercedes on our
behalf to the Father.
Here is another of those times when CONTEXT reading of Bible
passages is vital so we do not develop false theology ideas. The
words used by Paul, "the Spirit" in verse 26, 27, he interprets
for us in verse 34. It is Jesus who makes intercession for us.
And Paul again in 1 Timothy 2:5 says there is only ONE mediator
or interceding person between God and mankind - Christ Jesus! So
who is it that talks for us to the Father when we do not have the
words? Paul interpreting Paul, or Scripture interpreting
Scripture - it is "the Spirit" or Christ Jesus that intercedes
for us at such times. It is NOT some third person of some three
person "Trinity" that intercedes for us, it is Christ Jesus, who
Paul at times called "THE Spirit."
After that thought of who gives help when we need to express
ourselves to God, he answers the thought of why sufferings in the
first place, by saying that though we may be puzzled about them
at times, all the things of life work towards an end good for all
that have been called by God, according to the purpose He is
working out in His overall plan. And that plan was to call ones
to be like His Son Jesus. Christ was the firstborn of many others
who are to be also like Him. God knew from the beginning that He
would predestine or pre-determine that there would be a chosen
group of people from the time of Adam to the time of the first
resurrection. And so in determining that, they would of course be
called by God to salvation, and those called, would be justified
through Christ, as we have seen from all that Paul has previously
been teaching, and those justified, would then be in the first
resurrection to glory. And we have seen (in different previous
chapters) that glorification will be at the coming of Jesus in
power and glory to set up the Kingdom of God on earth.
Predestination here and in a few other passages of the New
Testament, does NOT mean that YOU and all other individuals
called to salvation from Adam's time, were somehow known by God
millions of years before each was born. Only a few individuals
were known by God BEFORE their human conception. Jesus was, John
the baptist was, Jeremiah was, and Cyrus a Persian king was (who
was to do God's will for a certain purpose). That's about all in
the entire Bible that are revealed to us whom God said He knew
before they were conceived and born. But the Eternal Father did
have set out in advance before Adam was created, that there would
always be some called to salvation from the very beginning, and
they would eventually make up all those saints who will be in the
first resurrection to glorification, at the second coming of
Jesus back to this earth (verses 28-30).
He points all this out to give the assurance to his readers
that God is FOR THEM, and so if God is FOR His children than who
can be against them. All that Christians may face in this life
they can face and overcome, endure, and subdue, for God is WITH
them, God gave His Son for them, and Jesus His Son is on the
Father's right hand interceding for all the saints.
He finishes chapter 8 with the verses that have become a
great source of comfort and inspiration to Christians around the
world:
"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it
mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity,
or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or
threatened with death? Even the Scriptures say, 'For your
sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like
sheep.' No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory
is ours through Christ, who loves us. And I am convinced
that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death
can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons
can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and
even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether
we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing
in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the
love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (New
Living Translation).
CHAPTER NINE
As Paul was talking about God's chosen, his mind now shifts
to the people of Israel as a whole. He is so grieved over them
that he would have given up his own salvation life if they could
have all been saved. They were the people to whom God had
revealed Himself and given them so much. The great fathers like
Abraham came from them, and Christ was born from those people.
But he does see a silver thread among the dark cloth, some
Israelites did serve God. And so the true Israelite, a true child
of Abraham, are not really those who are just physically
descended from Abraham. In fact Paul understood that it was
prophesied that the literal physical descendants of Abraham
would be called after Isaac. And so it is, for the main body of
the 12 tribes of Israel, the 10 tribes were taken into captivity
by the Assyrians in 745-718 B.C. and never returned to Palestine.
They eventually migrated through Europe and were known as Isaac's
sons or Saxons, and then Anglo-Saxons.
It was through a promise of God to Sarah, Abraham's wife
that the children of Israel would come, through Isaac their son
of promise, and it was decided by God that it would be Isaac's
son Jacob and not Esau the older son, that would carry the
promise. It was all to do with the election of God, according to
His calling and will. So it was for those called to salvation
among the Israelites, it was God's grace and calling, not
something they could work at and earn through something from
themselves. He will come back to this very important point of
election and grace later, but for now his mind is on the right of
God to choose who He will have mercy on and who He will work
through. His mind for now is set on God's power to choose whom He
will choose to fulfil His purpose. The election of God's grace is
where it is at, for yesterday and for today (verses 1-13).
Here is how Paul put it:
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?
God forbid! For He said to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion' (Ex.33:19). So that it is not of him that
wills it, nor of him that runs or works at it, but God that
shows mercy. For the Scripture said concerning Pharaoh,
'Even for this same purpose have I raised you up, that I
might show my power in you, and that my name might be
declared throughout all the earth' ((Ex.9:16).
Therefore has He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom
He will He hardens their heart" (verses 14-18).
We need to read these verses for what they simply state and
believe them. I explained in certain parts of the Gospels we went
through, that it is clear ALL people are in spiritual
BLINDNESS....UNTIL God chooses to open their mind to spiritual
truths. We have seen that being called to know the truths of the
Lord is in God's hands. I refer you again to verses such as John
6:44, 63-65 and Deut.5:29; 29:4 with Number 11. If God does NOT
open the heart and mind to spiritual truths then that person
cannot understand salvation, they are still in their blindness
and the vail of darkness remains over their minds - see
2 Corinthians 3:13-18.
We need not be concerned for their salvation, for God is
working with a plan of salvation for every human being that has
ever lived. Some are called to salvation in this life time, but
most are not. And as Paul here tells us with some of those NOT
called in this life time to know God and His salvation, He can do
with them whatever He likes, even to the point of what is related
here to us about Pharaoh. We saw as we went through the Gospels
that there is a large resurrection to physical life for millions,
probably BILLIONS in total from all ages, at the end of the 1,000
year Kingdom age on earth (read all of Revelation 20). All the
people, both young and old, poor and rich, famous and infamous,
kings, queens, and the ordinary peasants, will be raised to
physical life once more and given the word of God, have the tree
of life presented to them, have their minds opened to spiritual
truth, and mercy for salvation granted to them. The Pharaoh of
Moses' day will be among those billions.
Paul will return again to this truth of calling and the
election of grace for SOME and BLINDNESS for the rest, in chapter
11.
The argument will be immediately raised that, "Well, if it
is all to do with God's will as to who is called to salvation and
who is left in blindness and hardness of heart, then really no
one can be blamed for not doing God's will, and why should He
then find fault with anyone?" (verse 19)
Paul answers this argument, but not in any detailed way, he
simply replies to it with:
"No, but, O man, who do you think you are to tell God what
to do? Shall that which is made say to him that made it,
'Why did you make me such and such?' Does not the potter
have power over the clay, and with the same lump of clay he
can make one vessel to be honored and another vessel to be
dishonored? So, with God, He may decide to be patient in
wrath to show His power of wrath to others, and endure for a
while with patience upon the vessel He decided would have
His wrath and destruction. Hence he makes known the riches
of His mercy to those He decided would have His mercy and
have their calling to eventual glory. And sometimes this was
all known to God in advance. Even as He had decided to call
us Christians to receive His mercy and glory, and not of
Jews only but also of the Gentiles" (verses 20-24).
He proves that God in this age is only calling to salvation
a relative few by quoting from Hosea 2:23 and 1:10, where God
states that those who were not His people shall be called His
people and children of the living God. Then he moves to the
prophet Isaiah and quotes chapters 10:22; 11:5; 28:22 and 1:9
with Lamentation 3:22. It is clear that Paul believes these
verses show God had only determined to save or have mercy upon
a relative few, in the context of salvation in the Christian age.
And that God's calling would include people from outside of
Israel, or from the Gentiles.
Now with this all said, his thoughts go back to the way of
justification that he was covering in earlier chapters, and ties
the truth of the true way to justification with why the majority
of the Jews have failed to attain reconciliation and forgiveness
with God in the New Covenant age.
The Gentiles did not have the knowledge of God revealed to
them as did the Jews who had been given the Old Covenant. By and
large the Gentiles were not even looking for the truth of God,
but as the Gospel was proclaimed to them they saw the truth about
being justified or forgiven of sins was through FAITH in the
sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah, as their sin bearer.
The Jews on the other hand, who did have God revealed to
them and all the Old Testament Scriptures, did not obtain (in the
most part) the righteousness of God because they sort it by the
works of the law, trying to earn it by works and did not have
faith in the true way of justification with God, namely through
Jesus the Messiah. They stumbled at Christ, would not accept Him
as the sacrificial Savior of sins. Paul says this was also
prophesied to be this way, and that can be found in Psalm 118:22;
Isaiah 8:14; 28:16.
Paul will further expound on the contrast between the works
of the law and the work of faith in obtaining right standing with
God, in chapter 10.
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May 2004
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy-four:Paul writes Romans - Part six
CHAPTER TEN
Paul desired to see all Israel saved. He admitted they had a
zeal for God, but not according to correct knowledge. They did
not see Christ in the picture, they only saw the letter of the
written law and were trying to establish a right relationship
with God by serving the Old Covenant law, and had not yet seen
that without Jesus Christ as the foundation, they could not, and
never would, be reconciled or justified with God. The whole
object or end result of the Old Covenant law was to point to
Christ, as the way to be righteous - forgiven, justified, with
God (verses 1-4).
He points out that Moses wrote about how the Old Covenant
law could make one righteous with God (Lev.18:5), and that was by
obeying all in the law without ever breaking the law. As it is
the law that defines what sin IS, then the only way to be
justified with God through the law, would be to never break any
part of it, then and only then could you live forever. And there
is only ONE human person that has ever done that - Jesus the
Christ. On the other hand Paul says, becoming righteous with God
by FAITH, does not count on doing some mighty deed like ascending
to heaven, but it has all to do with the word preached and faith.
And if you have faith in Jesus being sent by God to be our
Savior, sin bearer, then believing this makes you righteous or
justified with God, no matter who you are, Jew, Greek, Gentile.
God is mercifully rich towards anyone who calls upon Him for
justification through Christ (verses 5-13).
Paul is once again repeating what he has said before. He
really wanted to nail this foundational truth down for them, and
so often repeated it though in slightly different ways. The truth
was that being forgiven of sins, becoming justified with God,
being declared righteous in God's sight, was ONLY through the
sacrificial work of Jesus' death on the cross, as our sin bearer.
And we had to have FAITH and BELIEVE in this way that God had
provided for us.
He then precedes to show that this way to salvation had been
preached, it had been proclaimed, God had sent it out from way in
the past, people had preached and taught this good news of FAITH
for justification. Faith then comes by hearing and hearing by the
Word of God. Paul relates that it was foretold by prophets such
as Moses and Isaiah, that God would have this truth proclaimed
and that others other than Israelites would hear it and accept
the good news of righteousness by faith. And at the same time
Isaiah said that Israel would hear but would not listen, would
not believe (Isaiah 65:2). Paul is now back talking about this
"election of grace" - only some in Israel coming to God's only
way to be saved and to find salvation (verses 14-21).
CHAPTER ELEVEN
One of the greatest chapters in the New Testament on the
grace of God's calling, and the overall plan of salvation for
Israel and for all (as Israel being a type of all nations
on earth), concerning salvation. It is the chapter that makes it
abundantly clear that all people are spiritually blinded and only
God's calling of grace can remove that blindness, and God is NOT
removing that blindness but in a relatively few people, yet He
will in His time frame give a calling of mercy to all people.
In all that Paul has said about Israel not finding the faith
to believe in the way of justification that God had always
declared would be the one and only way, he emphatically declares
in verses one and two, that God has NOT cast away His people
Israel. This is also where we learn that Paul was of the tribe
of Benjamin. He relates how in Elijah's time (2 Kings 19) when
Elijah thought he was the only one serving God, that the Lord had
told him, there were seven thousand in Israel that still
worshipped the true God, and had not bowed the knee to Baal
(verses 3-4).
Paul then says it was even so at the time of his writing,
that SOME in Israel believed, those who were of the "election of
grace." And grace is not works, if it were of works, then it
could not be of grace. Verse 7 is POWERFUL - it is the "election"
that have obtain grace, and ALL the rest were BLINDED. And verses
8-10 blows you away by saying it is GOD THAT HAS BLINDED THEM !!
Are they lost forever? He says, "GOD FORBID!" But in God's
plan of blindness to the many, the Gentiles can have grace
extended to them. And then some Israelites may become jealous and
also find grace. He gives a parable of the olive tree in verses
17-24. The wild olive tree represents the Gentiles. Some of the
branches of the natural olive tree were cut off and so the
branches of the wild olive tree could be grafted in. It
was all to do with "belief" - believing the true way of
justification with God. The Gentiles were not to boast, for it
they continued not in the true faith they would be cut off and if
the Israelite continued not in unbelief they would be grafted
back in (verses 17-24).
Then we have the wonderful verses of 25-36.
"I want you to understand this mystery dear brothers, so
that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of
Israel have hard hearts, and are blinded, but this will last
only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the
prophets said about this? 'A deliverer will come from Zion
and will turn Jacob from all ungodliness. And then I will
keep my covenant with them and take away their sins' (Isaiah
59:2--21).
Many of Israel are now enemies of the Good News. But those
elected are loved by God.
For the gifts and calling of God are without Him ever
turning back from. For in times past you did not believe
God, but now have obtained mercy from Him, when many in
Israel would not believe. And through your mercy those
unbelieving Israelites will one day obtain mercy. For God
has put all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all
in due time.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways
past finding out!
For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His
counsellor? Or who first gave to Him so God could give back
to them? For in Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all
things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Do you see what these wonderful verses teach? God has put
EVERYONE in a state of unbelief, BLINDNESS to the Gospel. He then
calls and has an "election of grace" - He opens the minds of
SOME, when He decides - the rest stay in blindness, BUT ONLY
till the Lord decides to remove their blindness. With Israel, it
was foretold by the prophets that MOST of them would remain in
blindness to the Gospel UNTIL the coming of the Messiah in glory,
what we call the "second coming of Christ" - and then the Lord
will set His hand to remove the sins of Israel, take away the
spiritual vail of blindness that covers their minds, and start to
save all of Israel.
It is all in God's salvation TIME PLAN for all people who
have ever lived. I expounded this is some detail as we went
through parts of the Gospels. All in due time will be given
mercy, given a clear and plain chance to know the truths of God
and the way to be saved through Christ the redeemer. Some have
mercy shown towards them now in this life time, others will have
it shown to them later. As Jesus said in the Gospels, their will
be a resurrection of ALL people, all that are in the graves. Some
will be in the first resurrection to meet Christ in the air, in
the clouds (1 Thes. 4:13-18; with Rev.20:1-4). Those will be the
ones called and chosen from the time of Adam to Jesus' coming
again. Those not called during their physical life time, as most
of the children of Israel were not, will be raised in a second
resurrection, the books of the Bible will be opened to them and
the book of LIFE will be given them. It is their time to be shown
mercy (Rev.20:12-13).
As Paul said, "O the depth of the riches both of wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His
ways." How wonderful is the love, the patience, and the mercy of
God.
CHAPTER TWELVE
With the truth of God's mercy now presented to Paul's
readers he precedes to tell them HOW they should be living as
being under that mercy, as being called of God to have His
salvation.
Being under God's grace means we are to live as a full
complete sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God, which is only our
reasonable service for such mercy and love. We are to be not
conformed to the ways of the world, but we are to be TRANSFORMED
by the RE-MAKING of our minds, to PROVE what is the GOOD and
ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT will of God. We are to not think of
ourselves above what we should, but to think in a sober manner,
as God as given to each of us a measure of faith. And this Paul
goes on to explain is the gifts from God that each have been
given. We are to use these gifts to serve all within the body of
Christ. We need to use them to their full potential and full
benefit for the members of the Church. Paul is instructing that
we need to know WHAT is our gift or gifts and so use them
accordingly. To try and function within gifts we do not have is
really like putting a square peg in a round hole, I guess you
could eventually force it in, but it never really fits properly
and could even mess things up as you try.
Christians under grace are to ABHOR that which is EVIL, and
to CLEAVE, hang on to for dear life we could say, to that which
is GOOD. We are to be kindly affectionate with brotherly love
towards each other, in respect preferring one another. We can
still like and enjoy to a point some outside the Church of God,
but our first love should be especially towards those in the
family of God. We are not to be lazy in our business of
work in this world, and we need to be zealous on serving the
Lord. We should rejoice in the assured hope we have of God's love
and plan for our eternal life. We are to endure trials and
tribulations, and continue in a constant mind of prayer, which is
having our mind constantly in close relations with our heavenly
Father. Christians are to give to other saints who are in need,
as they are able, and to be a people of hospitality (verses
1-13).
Paul was not through with listing other proclivities that
should be part of a Christian's life.
"Bless them which persecute you; bless and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice; and weep with them that weep"
We need to be able to empathize with people.
"Be of the same mind one towards another." Love each other. "Mind
not high things, but be content with mean things." Do not put
your consuming desire on having wealthy material things. "Be not
wise in your own conceits." Don't be vain minded with your ideas
that are not backed by God's word. You may be correct with some
thoughts as you live in this world, but don't be vain about it.
Then again you may be wrong, but vainly think you are correct,
and that makes you double the fool. "Do not give back evil to
others who do evil towards you. Be upright and honest with people
you deal with in this life. If it be possible, as much as what is
your part in it, live peaceably with all people." Sometimes
peace is not possible with some individuals and you may have to
stand up for your rights, but in the main try to live at peace
with people. "Dearly beloved, do not take vengeance, but put
wrathful revenge behind you, for it is written, 'Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, says the Lord.' Therefore if your enemy
hunger, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so
doing you will lead him to be ashamed or embarrassed for what he
has done to you. Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil
with good" (verses 14-21).
Quite the list of conduct to live by as we move and work and
have our daily living among the brothers and sisters in Christ
and those out in the world.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Verses 1-7 is concerning our living with and responsibility
towards "secular governments" of this world. It again has caused
some concern and questions in the minds of Christians, who find
themselves under an evil government of men. We can think about
those who lived under the government of Hitler before and during
the Second World War. Then there have been some terrible dictator
governments in some countries since the Second World War, who
have killed thousands, and imprisoned many more thousands, for
their own selfish reasons. Can such governments be said to be
"the minister of God to you for good" and "Whoever therefore
resists the power, resists the ordinance of God"? I think not, in
fact it certainly cannot be said they are from God or in any way
doing the service of the Lord.
The answer is again realizing that Paul is using a "general
statement" based upon a context where a secular government is not
evil towards its people. The Roman government of Paul's day
allowed people like the Jews to observe their religion. As long
as people were orderly they gave a lot of freedom to worship and
conduct their lives in a respectable manner.
What are Christians to do when they find themselves under an
evil government such as the one Hitler governed. We are given a
basic two ways to go in the New Testament. You either stand up
for what is right and proper, and take whatever persecution comes
upon you, or you pack your bag and FLEE!
Verse 8 has also given some trouble as to what Paul is
saying. I like the "New Living Translation" - they put it this
way: "Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You
can never finish paying that!"
Paul quotes some of the Ten Commandments to show that we
need to observe them in our relationship with other human
individuals we converse with each day. It is another section that
makes it clear that Paul never thought or taught that the Ten
Commandments were abolished at any time.
He finishes this section with reminding his readers that
they need to awake out of any spiritual sleep they may have got
themselves into, to put on the amour of light, to live and walk
in the way that is of Christ Jesus and not the way of the natural
flesh with its lusts. He reminds them that the day is far spent
and that the time of completion of their salvation is nearer than
when they first believed.
This is of course true at any time, for who knows how long
we shall live after the day we first believed and were called to
our salvation. As is commonly said among Christians, "We need to
live for God as if this is our last day in this physical life."
In chapter 14, Paul moves into answering and giving
guidance, on a specific problem that was apparently taking place
among the brethren of the Church of God at Rome, and that was the
pros and cons of "meat eating" or "no meat eating" and "fasting"
and "days on which to fast."
..............................
June 2004
TO BE CONTINUED
  Chapter Seventy-five:Paul writes Romans - Part seven
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
This chapter has special significance towards the "strong"
and the "weak" in the faith. It is quite natural that the Church
of God would always be made up of those strong and weak in the
word and faith of God. Obviously those who have been a long time
in the Lord's word and as Christians, should be grounded deeper
in the ways of God, and those "new" to Christ and the heavenly
Father would be weaker in understanding the deep things of the
Lord.
The Christians at Rome were indeed comprised of these two
groups. Some, who were according to Paul "weak" in the faith,
believed that God's perfect diet of physical eating should be
that of a vegetarian. Others, who were stronger in the word and
understanding of the Lord, knew that eating meat was fine and
within the food laws of God.
The problem was that each group did not merely "judge" each
other but were CONDEMNING each other, both groups claiming the
other was sinning by what they practiced on the physical side of
eating food, and in this specific case, the eating of flesh
meat or not eating it.
The context has nothing to do with "clean and unclean" food
laws that God gave to Israel in the Old Covenant. That question
is not raised at all by Paul here. If it was to do with the
question of eating clean or unclean foods, then it cannot be
possible that Paul would have NOT clearly addressed the issue
with plain words. And the word used in verse 14 is NOT "unclean"
(as to do with clean and unclean food laws under the Old
Covenant) but is as the margin of many KJV Bibles gives you,
"common" or "ceremonially unclean." And of course in the mind of
some, ANY flesh meat, even from clean animals (as given under the
Old Covenant in Lev.11 and Deut.14) is unclean to eat, in that
they believe God's original food laws in the first chapters of
Genesis, taught the holiest way of eating was by being a
vegetarian.
Paul is addressing here this concept of theology as opposed
to the theology that God allows flesh meat to be eaten if
desired. It is also very obvious if admitting to yourself, which
idea was the "weak" and which one was the "strong" theology. No
matter what a person understands from other Scriptures on this
subject, Paul makes it very clear, under inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, that to hold the theology that being a no meat eater is
the correct way to live, is the "weak" theology of the faith, and
that knowing God's does allow a person to eat flesh meat, is the
"strong" theology of the faith. But condemning others as if
sinning or as if not as close with God, is also NOT the way to
be thinking or acting.
We need to realize that there are SOME issues regarding HOW
we live as Christians, that have NO right or wrong side to them.
Both sides of the issue are very acceptable to God. Yes, there
may be a more correct stance in a technically correct theological
position, but with God the bottom line is that people on BOTH
sides of the matter, are acceptable before Him. It is with the
Father not an issue of salvation importance.
The same goes for FASTING, not eating at all on this or that
day. The Pharisee Jews had TWO days of the week they would often
fast upon. Some were noted as always following this man-made law
and traditions of their religion, and the followers of this
practice would often hold it up as a kind of "super
righteousness" of the way of God. In reality, the word of God had
no such law, nor ever came even close to such a law like
this, that the Pharisees had invented and established. Yet, some
in Rome were obviously thinking that "their" day to fast upon was
greater than some other day that others fasted upon. They were
condemning each other in such a way as to make each other feel
LESS "righteous" or further away from God's pathway of living.
Paul, noting these two topics of "flesh eating and not flesh
eating" and "fasting on certain days" was making an OVERALL very
important point. Not everyone, on SOME ways of living HAVE to be
EXACTLY doing the same thing.
We do not all have to be wearing exactly the same kind of
suit or dress, or color of suit or dress, at Church services.
Milk in its natural form, without man-made pollutants in it, is a
very healthy and nutritional drink, but we have freedom in God's
sight to either drink it or not drink it. Grapes may be good for
you to eat, but I do not HAVE to eat them. God accepts the grape
eater and the no grape eater. And so it goes with many other
things. There is freedom in God's sight to do or not do many
things, neither the doing or not doing, is sin. But as human
nature goes, some people do want to make sin issues out of that
which is not sin.
Condemning one another over such "no salvation" matters,
Paul makes plain, should never be done. He tells us that Christ
died for those on both sides of the matter. And God will judge
us according to how we have judged and even condemned others,
on matter the points that are quite within His law, and upon
which He gives us no absolute right or wrong way to live (verses
1-12).
But in all of this, there is one VERY important point that
Paul wants everyone to understand. A Christian who technically
KNOWS the "stronger" basic truth of God's word on a particular
matter, such as on the subject of eating meat or not eating meat,
that stronger in the faith Christian, is NOT to offend the yet
"weaker in the faith" brother or sister. Those stronger are to
make sure they follow the way that makes "peace."
Sometimes flouting your superior knowledge of God's word,
sticking it in the face of someone who does not have that
knowledge, or trying to cram it down their throat at we
say, is NOT the correct way to live with your Christian brother.
Sometimes in giving out that which is perhaps technically "good"
or "stronger in the faith" we end up having our "good" evil
spoken about. It does not bring about the desired results we may
have thought would have materialized from "giving forth our
good."
We see from this whole context of Paul in this chapter, that
the subject is all to do with "meat and drink" - physical things,
where God accepts both sides of practicing certain physical
things such as eating meat or not eating meat, fasting on certain
days different from other days that others fast one, and drinking
wine or alcohol or not drinking alcohol.
The important point is as Paul stated in verses 21, "It is
good neither to eat flesh, not to drink wine, nor any thing
whereby your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak."
We are to live in the physical aspects of our lives, trying
to make sure we do NOT offend our Christian brothers and sisters.
Paul does end by stating that yes the person can be happy
who does understand, who is strong in the faith, and who knows
what God allows him or her to practice in the physical part of
their lives. Yet, for those who still have doubts, who do not
have that strong faith, it can be damaging, if they try to comply
with certain physical practices, because they are not doing it
from faith, hence to them it is still sin and wrong to do
(verses 13-23).
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The bottom line with Paul was that the strong are to bear
the lack of these still weak in certain aspects of the faith. And
the strong just CANNOT please themselves all the time. We are to
also please our brothers and sisters so their edification can
continue towards more perfect understanding. For even Christ did
not please Himself, but took our sins upon Him. Looking at it
from a selfish view, Christ could have said, "No, I do not want
to do all this, so others can have eternal life. I'm okay where I
am, living in perfect eternal life with God."
We are to so receive each other, just as Jesus received us
to the glory of God, so that God's glory could be expanded and be
even more glorious (verses 1-7).
Jesus came to CONFIRM the promises God had made, and one
LARGE promise was that the Gentiles, or non-Israelite, could have
salvation. He quotes a number of Old Testament passages to prove
that that was the plan of God all along.
He desires that God fill them with all JOY and PEACE, that
they may ABOUND in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit
(verses 8-13).
Paul in verses 14-21 states his main purpose in writing to
them at Rome. He knows they are basically full of goodness,
filled with knowledge, and so can admonish each other in the
right way. He tells them he was sent especially to declare the
Gospel to the Gentiles, as was also foretold by God that He would
send people to so do. He says he will not dwell upon the mighty
signs and miracles that God did though him wherever he went
preaching the Gospel. But he will says that he tried to go to
places where the Gospel had not been preached, so he would not be
thought of as trying to build on what others had already done. He
tried to do what God had foretold in old times by the prophets,
that those to whom God had not been revealed, to them truth and
light would be given, and they would come to understand
salvation.
In verses 22-33 he tells them about his great desire to come
to them. He needs to go up to Jerusalem to serve the saints in
making sure the physical help of material goods from the brothers
in Macedonia, got there in safety. But after that was done, he
planned on going to Spain, and so along the way, he would come to
visit them in Rome. He asked for their prayers, that he would be
delivered from those in Judea that did NOT believe, and that he
would then with joy arrive among them, to be uplifted spiritually
and physically, in his journey to Spain.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Verses 1-16 is commendation of certain individuals to those
at Rome. I will make mention of Phebe and Priscilla in verses 1
and 3. Paul is often thought to be "against women" - well at
least in a "church role" position. Nothing could be further from
the truth. And here Paul makes it abundantly manifest that he had
a very deep appreciation, nay, more than just appreciation. He
honored such ladies as Phebe and Priscilla. He tells the
Roman Christians to accept Phebe in such a way as to "assist her
in whatsoever business she has need of you." Now, I would say
that is FULL and unlimited CONFIDENCE and TRUST in this lady, as
much as he could have given to men like Timothy, whom he loved so
much in the work of the Lord.
And Priscilla.....he calls her a "helper" in Christ Jesus,
but that hardly gives the meaning of the Greek here. It is more
like, "fellow-worker, co-worker." Both her and her husband
Aquila, had laid down their lives for Paul, and it was not just
himself that thought so highly of them, but ALL the churches of
the Gentiles.
The context of "church services" as in 1 Corinthians 14, is
one thing with Paul, but OUTSIDE of that context, there was no
limits, and he was just as thankful and grateful to women in the
work of the Lord as he was to the men who served faithfully in
the teaching of the Gospel.
Verses 17-18. The context not at all as the context of 1
Corinthians 5, where in that context Paul makes it very clear the
individual practicing sin should be put out, or disfellowshipped
from the local church. Here it is to "note" such persons as cause
division and offenses contrary to the teaching they had learned
as truth, and to "avoid them" - stay out of their way. Such
persons were by their words and clever speeches able to
deceive the minds of the new spiritually weaker members of the
congregation. But it would seem that as yet Paul did not think
they had completely stepped over the line, so far as to have the
church put them out of fellowship with the members of the
congregation, as the man in Corinth had done (I refer you back to
the chapters I covered when going through the books of
Corinthians on the matter of that gross sin and the actions that
Paul said needed to be taken by the church).
Paul's final words to them are in verses 21-27. He had this
epistle physically written by a man named Tertius (verse 22), who
sent them his greetings. Paul obviously dictated the words for
him to write down.
The Gospel was a wonderful mystery of God that was now being
fully revealed to the world, as foretold in the Scriptures of the
prophets. And "To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
for ever. Amen."
.............................
June 2004
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