Romans 1:8-17
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Good evening. I trust Jacob did a great job last week, looking at these verses. I want to take tonight and review just a bit while really honing in on verses 16 and 17. Hopefully we won’t be wildly divergent here, but instead, I hope that you will get some good insight from both lessons.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Again, I know Jacob covered some of this last week, but I want to make sure we really understand what is happening here.
I want to take this a bit in chunks and and also verse by verse. WithScripture in general and Paul’s letters in particular, you sometimes have to look at the chunks so that each verse really lands properly.
Our first chunk is 8-15. This is a pretty typical opening salvo from Paul. If you look at the opening paragraphs to his letters, you see a pattern:
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Corinthians is a little different, but even there you have this sort of opening thanksgiving:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Philippians has one of my all time favorite “thank you notes” in scripture
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Side note: When I was in seminary, there would be times when you would receive a scholarship from a donor to the seminary, and you were always expected to write a thank you note to the anonymous donor, and the business office would match your note with the donor. I almost always signed mine with these verses, because I felt then (and still do) that these verses best encapsulated my thanks towards those who were helping my educational journey into ministry.
Anyway, moving on:
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Finally, Philemon 1:4-7
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Of the Pauline Epistles, only Galatians, 1 Timothy, and Titus do not have this thank you note at the beginning. 1 Timothy was written to Timothy, and was a bit more of a personal letter. Titus is very much the same. Galatians is different, and has always struck me as a letter that Paul wrote in a rush to fend off the Judaizers and false teachers.
Now, before we look at the content of each of these, we should first see that Paul is a man who is thankful to God for the churches he has the privilege of serving. Paul understood the sacrifice that these believers were making on a daily basis, and his delight in their faith was evident.
So, point of application here: Are we thankful for our fellow believers? And I don’t just mean our fellow church members. Clough has a history (both good and bad, of course), but in our recent past one thing has become clear: Our people love each other. I heard a person saying this week how they had contemplated leaving the church during a pastoral transition, but ultimately chose to stay because of the relationships their family had forged here. That is a great testament.
But what of other believers? Are we genuinely thankful for believers who are striving for the Kingdom in other churches around the world? Do we thank God for the persecuted church? Do we thank God for what He is doing at Glen Este? When we see believers supporting one another, that is a beautiful thing.
Now, I’m not saying go and give a hearty Christian back-slap to a Jehovah’s Witness. They are following a false gospel. But we should rejoice with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are members of Bible believing churches around the world that seek the kingdom of God.
Interestingly, look at Paul’s words here in verse 8 of Romans 1 -
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
We see that the church in Rome is gaining a reputation for their faithfulness throughout the Roman empire.
And this is where we need to examine Paul: Does he thank them? No. He thanks God. Paul connects prayer and gratitude as two sides of the same coin. He is thankful for their work and reputation, but he expresses this to God, who is the sovereign ruler over and provider of all things.
We see this in verses 9-10:
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.
Paul prays constantly in his thankful state, and he adds how much he desires to visit them.
Again, we talked about this a few weeks ago, but Paul has earnestly desired to visit the churches in Rome.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—
He wants to minister to them, to share what spiritual gifts he has, as well as what wisdom the Holy Spirit has given him. He wants to serve them. We see in verse 12 that he sees this as mutually beneficial:
12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
That is something else that we sometimes miss. We understand that we are to gather together. We have talked about that in various contexts over the years. Hebrews 10:25:
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We know we are supposed to go to church. And sometimes we can’t because of circumstances. You’re sick, or your family is sick. Car trouble. Work schedules. There are various valid reasons for occasionally missing service.
But many folks have found convenient excuses for missing church. “Well, I bought this boat, so I have to use it.” “If I don’t get my time on the golf course, I lose my spot in the club.” “I hate that they play all of their sports games on Sundays, but I want him to have a better future than me.”
Paul says that he desires to visit the church in Rome in order to mutually encourage them and be encouraged by them. You can’t be an encouragement to me if you are not at church. Or if I am not at church. If we miss church, we miss out. God clearly designed this so that we would do life together. We are to be thankful for one another, and we are to support and encourage one another.
We see the pain in Paul’s heart that he hasn’t been able to visit them yet, despite his desire to do so:
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
He has been diligently working to get to Rome, but has not been able to do so, being prevented in all sorts of ways (see the last half of the book of Acts).
Paul feels an urgent sense of need in preaching the Gospel in Rome.
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
He is under obligation. He is eager.
Calvin’s commentary on verse 14 is interesting:
Two things are to be here considered—that the gospel is by a heavenly mandate destined and offered to the wise, in order that the Lord may subject to himself all the wisdom of this world, and make all variety of talents, and every kind of science, and the loftiness of all arts, to give way to the simplicity of his doctrine; and what is more, they are to be reduced to the same rank with the unlearned, and to be made so meek, as to be able to bear those to be their fellow-disciples under their master, Christ, whom they would not have deigned before to take as their scholars; and then, that the unlearned are by no means to be driven away from this school, nor are they to flee away from it through groundless fear; for if Paul was indebted to them, being a faithful debtor, he had doubtless discharged what he owed; and thus they will find here what they will be capable of enjoying. All teachers have also a rule here which they are to follow, and that is, modestly and kindly to accommodate themselves to the capacities of the ignorant and unlearned. Hence it will be, that they will be able, with more evenness of mind, to bear with many absurdities and almost innumerable things that may disgust them, by which they might otherwise be overcome. They are, however, to remember, that they are not so indebted to the foolish, as that they are to cherish their folly by immoderate indulgence.
What he is saying is that in Christ the wise are made meek, and the meek are given wisdom. They are “reduced to the same rank,” which, in the time of Calvin and the understanding of class systems as a way of separating the princes from the paupers (which in practical terms meant the learned vs. the unlearned), is a revolutionary statement. For a nobleman, a man of science and art, to be considered the same as the “ignorant and unlearned” would be a blow to the pride. But scripture points this out. We see that Paul is sent to preach to the Greeks (historically learned people) and the barbarians (unlearned).
The Gospel is for all.
And Calvin isn’t suggesting “dumbing down” anything, but in essence, he is saying that the Gospel is for all, and that we cannot and should not make it for only the learned, but for all.
We unintentionally do this sometimes when we use seminary words unnecessarily. I am guilty of this, sometimes. I like to sound smart. But that is just pride. That is just sin.
There are reasons and times to use words like efficacious or propitiation or eschatology or sanctification. Those words mean something, and there are times when they are the best words for the point you are making. But Paul was very careful (and will be very careful as we see in the coming chapters) to remind us that the Gospel is for all levels of understanding, not just scholars.
Finally, Paul gives the why:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Paul is not ashamed. He has no remorse for sharing the Gospel. He does not feel shame for being associated with Christ. Others might try to shame him, but he is not ashamed. He is, according to Calvin, preparing the church at Rome to bear the reproach of Christ.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation. Interestingly, the word there refers to the idea of the ability to perform an action or to someone in a position of power. The Gospel, then, is in position of power (from God) over salvation. The Gospel is what changes or effects change. We are powerless, but the Gospel is God’s power for salvation.
But the Gospel requires a response. There is a response given: either acceptance or rejection.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
Acts thru Corinthians Paul’s Deep Desires (1:8–17)
The word he uses for “believing in the gospel” (1:16) means more than simply intellectual assent. It refers to having confidence and placing one’s trust in something.
One of the meanings for the word there (πιστεύω (pisteuō)) is to “believe to the extent of complete trust.”
I love that definition. Like, I believe that this chair will hold me if I stand on it. But I also am running calculations in my mind, because I’ve eaten a little too much fried chicken in my life, and I’m wondering, “what’s it weight-rated for?” Because of my engineering background I’m thinking about surface area, and how me sitting on a chair spreads the force out, where as standing on it puts more pressure and therefore taxes the components a bit more. I know that if I were to stand here too long, I would probably start hearing some cracking of the wooden structure under the chair.
I believe the chair will hold me…to an extent.
But, if I go stand on that step - a step that has been made out of heavier materials, has been reinforced, and has been structurally designed to withstand a constant load of people moving up and down them…I have complete trust that this step will hold me. When I climb these steps, the thought of them collapsing under my feet never crosses my mind.
THAT is the connotation of the belief here in verse 16. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who completely trusts in Christ.
Now, at the same time, the Gospel is the power of God to everyone who believes. Not to get into a debate of free will or free choice, but we must understand that not everyone will go to heaven. Calvin says this:
Since then the gospel invites all to partake of salvation without any difference, it is rightly called the doctrine of salvation: for Christ is there offered, whose peculiar office is to save that which was lost; and those who refuse to be saved by him, shall find him a Judge.
Again, the Gospel requires a response.
But why the Jew first and then the Greek?
Well, because Christ came to God’s people first. They rejected Him as Messiah. The apostles started their ministry among the Jews first. In Acts 10, we see Peter understand that God has not limited himself to Jews only. Paul would enter a town and go to the synagogue first, seeking to share the gospel with his Jewish brethren. When they rejected him, he went to the gentiles. The Jews had pride of place because of the covenant of God with Abraham. But because of their rejection of God (shown in their rejection of Christ), the gospel message was then made available to everyone else.
Verse 17 continues the thought:
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
For in the Gospel, which is the power of salvation to those who fully trust in it (and damnation for those who reject it), the righteousness of God is revealed.
Calvin argues that:
For if we seek salvation, that is, life with God, righteousness must be first sought, by which being reconciled to him, we may, through him being propitious to us, obtain that life which consists only in his favour; for, in order to be loved by God, we must first become righteous, since he regards unrighteousness with hatred. He therefore intimates, that we cannot obtain salvation otherwise than from the gospel, since nowhere else does God reveal to us his righteousness, which alone delivers us from perdition. Now this righteousness, which is the groundwork of our salvation, is revealed in the gospel: hence the gospel is said to be the power of God unto salvation. Thus he reasons from the cause to the effect.
This righteousness is revealed “from faith for faith.” What does that mean?
Well, righteousness is offered by the gospel (vs 17: in in (the Gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed). The gospel is received by faith (vs. 16: to everyone who believes).
So the righteousness is received by faith, and as our faith grows, matures, or makes progress, and as we move from spiritual milk to meat, so the righteousness of God increases in us at the same time. This leads to the bearing of spiritual fruit. As Calvin so beautifully puts it:
When at first we taste the gospel, we indeed see God’s smiling countenance turned towards us, but at a distance: the more the knowledge of true religion grows in us, by coming as it were nearer, we behold God’s favour more clearly and more familiarly
This “for faith” is how we continually live out our Christian walk. Hence the quote from Habakkuk 2:4 in noting the lifestyle of faith:
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
May it be our prayer that we should live by faith.
