Lawson Romans 1

Death of a Society – Romans 1:28-32

OnePassion Ministries March 16, 2017

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And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:28-32). Grace is never amazing until we know the wrath of God. Before we can understand the good news of salvation, we must first know the bad news of condemnation. Before we can appreciate the grace of God, there must be an awareness of our guilt before Him. This is the strategic importance of this opening section in Romans 1:18-3:20 that pronounces the judgment of God upon the human race. In this lesson from Romans 1:28-32, we will have reinforced the truth that it is the judgment of God upon man’s sin that makes the message of justification by faith so wonderful. Here is the black velvet backdrop that makes the diamond of God’s grace shine all the more brightly. Here, we find the warning signs of the impending death of a society. These threatening marks reveal the death of any nation, culture, or society. The graveyard of past civilizations is filled with these corpses. As we examine this passage, it raises the questions: Can any nation survive without God? Can any society function without acknowledging the moral laws of God? Can any culture endure without the moral restraint of the law of God? Is there any hope for a collective group of people to function successfully without God in its center? In these concluding verses of Romans chapter one, here is the final outcome of any society that rejects the knowledge of God. These verses describe any collective group of people who reject God and descend morally into a death spiral. This section describes the slippery slope for any society that has turned its back on God. This moral decline accelerates at a rapidly increasing speed. Here is the increasing darkness into which a godless people fall until they self-destructs. The sobering truth, as found in Romans 1:28-32, helps us to understand the world in which we live today. We are not going to hear this message of impending doom any place other than where the full counsel of the word of God is taught. This teaching is totally antithetical to what the world believes. This understanding of world history – and this present generation – is counterintuitive to every other man-centered worldview. This is the divine perspective that God has revealed to us. I. Society’s REJECTION of God (1:28a) Paul begins, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (verse 28). Who is “they?” Its antecedents are found in the previous verse, “their women,” “their desire,” and “their error” (verse 27). Earlier, “For this reason God gave them over” (verse 26). “They exchanged the knowledge of God for a lie” (verse 25). In the verse before, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored” (verse 24). As we keep tracing the antecedent to its beginning, we read, “They became fools” (verse 22). “Even though they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks. They became futile in their foolish speculations” (verse 21). “They are without excuse” (verse 20). “That which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them” (verse 19). In verse 18, we finally arrive at the antecedent. Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” “They” in verse 28 are the God-rejectors in verses 18-27. This describes those outside the kingdom of God, who live with ungodly attitudes and unrighteous lifestyles. This is not intended to suggest that everyone who rejects God becomes attracted to the opposite sex, as verses 26-27 describe. Rather, Paul is identifying a segment of people within the whole. This describes a society that has refused God. As they refuse Him the rightful place He deserves in their lives, God abandons them to this moral tailspin. Because they reject God, He rejects them. Paul later writes, “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Hebrews 10:30). It is because of their defiance of God that He repays them with His wrath of divine abandonment. A Reemphasized Truth When Paul writes, “They did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (verse 28), he is re-emphasizing this initial sin of rejecting God that he described earlier in this section concerning “men who suppress the truth” (verse 19). When the truth about God is made known to them, they chose not to receive it, but to suppress it. They held down the knowledge of God in order to not have to deal with Him. Paul previously described this rejection when he writes, “Even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God” (verse 21). He further identified them as those who “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (verse 23). Reinforcing this truth, Paul adds, “They exchange the truth of God for a lie” (verse 25). This sewer of sin flows until it becomes a polluted river that floods a society with its immoral corruption. This is the fifth time in this section that Paul has stressed their intentional rejection of God (verses 18, 21, 23, 25, 28). He writes, “they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (verse 28), which means when they had the knowledge about God, they chose to reject Him. God has made known the truth of His existence and character to every person on the earth through general revelation (verse 19). Yet, they have deliberately rejected Him and suffer the divine judgment upon that unbelief. A Severer Punishment It is a serious matter to reject the truth about God. There is a severe condemnation for those who refuse the general revelation of God in creation and conscience. A much severer punishment awaits those who refuse the special revelation of the gospel. This certainly describes the moral decline of every society. In addition, there are nations that have received the special revelation of God in the gospel. Nowhere is this more true than in the United States. There has never been a nation that has received so much gospel truth as this country. There have been an unprecedented number of church pulpits, television programs, radio broadcasts, Bible colleges, and publishing houses that have proclaimed the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. There has never been a people that has had more direct exposure to the divine revelation in the word of God. Yet no people have so resolutely rejected this knowledge of God. There is no more serious sin than the rejection of God. The blatant refusal of God reaches a tipping point for any society. God Himself is the determinative issue for every nation, culture, and society. The moral decline that we are witnessing is the aftereffect of an all-out war against God. This nation has made it clear that we do not want the truth of God in our public life. This country does not want the justice of God in the courtroom. We do not want the mind of God in the classroom. We do not want to see the name of God in the public square. We are seeing the repudiation of God in our national life that arises out of the total depravity of the human heart. II. Society’s RETRIBUTION From God (1:28b) As Paul continues his argument, he states that divine retribution awaits any society that rejects Him. The apostle announces, “so God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper” (verse 28). This is the third time in these few verses Paul has announced, “God gave them over” (verses 24, 26, 28). This threefold repetition is an intentional emphasis that comes with blood-chilling force. The verb “gave them over” (paradidomai) means ‘to be given over to judgment.’ It was used this way in Romans 4:25 and 8:32, when Jesus was given over to judgment before Pilate to be condemned. The word is used numerous times in the book of Acts to describe one who had been arrested and given over into prison (8:3, 12:4, 21:11, 27:1, 28:17). In these instances, Christians were put in chains, locked up, and confined to jail. When Paul writes, “God gave them over,” he means that God has delivered them over to divine judgment for their unbelief. This statement announces a sentence of divine condemnation in which they are imprisoned in their own sins so that they cannot escape. They are now locked up in their sin, and there is no hope of escape except by a divine intervention of mercy. In this judgment, Paul writes, “God gave them over to a depraved mind.” This is the third time they have been given over to their sin. At first, God gave them over to sexual immorality (verse 24). Then God gave them over to lesbian and homosexual activity (verse 26-27). Finally, God gave them over to a “depraved mind” (adokimos). This means that their thinking is no longer capable of reasonable thought. It means that they are unable to think rationally or logically concerning issues of life. Their mind is rendered incapable of rational thought. They make insane choices that they would have never made otherwise. This exercise of divine justice causes them to sink yet deeper in their sin. Whenever a collective society hits this point, they have sunk to new lows. They have reached the point of no return.  Their depraved mind causes them to make illogical decisions. This is what we have in the transgender bathroom situation. Is there anything more insane than that? That is a depraved, reprobate mind that is incapable of sound thinking. And who knows what is next? Paul says these are things unlawful to mention in public. III. Society’s Rottenness Without God (1:29-31) The tragic result of this depraved mind is found in verses 29-31, which is the longest vice list found anywhere in the Bible. A similar list of carnality is found in other places in the Bible, but this one is the most comprehensive. It is not to be considered all-inclusive, but representative of the total collapse of a society. This is merely the tip of the iceberg of a society that is abandoned by God. This catalogue of corruption is the concentrated synopsis of a godless people. In these verses, there are twenty-one sins listed, arranged in four sections. This morally depraved culture is described as “being filled with” (pleroo) all kinds of evils. This is the same word, “filled,” that is used in Ephesians 5:18, where believers are commanded to be filled by the Spirit. This means that a follower of Christ must be supernaturally energized by the Spirit to do the will and work of God. Such a person is under the control of the Spirit and dominated by Him. This same word (peleroo) means more than this godless society is in the strong grip of unrighteousness and cannot escape. They are under the dominant control of these wicked ills. They are not casual partakers of evils, but those under its power. Section One: Sinfulness The first section consists of the four initial words clustered together. Paul writes, they are “being filled with all unrighteousness.” The word “all” means unrighteousness at every level. This first designation is like the topic sentence in a paragraph that describes all that follows. The word “unrighteousness” (adikia) means ‘violating a law, a departure from a standard.’ This word was used earlier, “for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness” (1:18). Ungodliness is the internal attitude, unrighteousness is the external action. Ungodliness is any irreverence towards God, where unrighteousness is any lawless behavior before Him. Paul next addresses “wickedness” (poneria), which means ‘evil plots and purposes.’ This describes the scheming by evil men to commit their deeds of wickedness. They do not wait for sin to come to them. They initiate plots to commit sin. Next is “greed” (pleonexia), which is ‘an evil desire for more.’ They have a total lack of contentment with what they have in life. No matter where they are in society, they are restless to grab for more of this world. Feeding this craving for more is envy. They must always have more. Completing this first section is “evil” (kakia), which means ‘a desire to injure others.’ They harm others in order to get what they want. They run over people to work their way up the ladder. They step on people in order to fulfill their greed. These sins are like links in one chain, each interconnected with the other, each being pulled forward by the previous sin. Section Two: Sinful Pursuits The second part of this list starts with “full of” (mestos), meaning that their sin is full to overflowing. Like pouring water into a cup until it is overflowing, their depraved hearts cannot contain the rising evil that fills it. The first evil that fills the heart is “envy” (phthonos), which means ‘jealousy and wishing ill will.’ It is desiring that others not have what good they do have. Instead, they want what others have. It is the desire to injure others in order to obtain what they have. This does not describe merely one person, but a whole society of people who are filled with envy. This pictures the mass chaos of a society, where the masses are jealous of what others have. The next evil is “murder” (phonos), which represents persons who are willing to kill in order to steal from others. This person is willing to take the life of someone else, who prevents them from having what they want. A mother would be willing to kill her own baby in the womb just to keep her job and make more money. This is followed by the sin of “strife” (eris), which means ‘contention, quarreling, arguing, bickering.’ Such a person will fight anyone to achieve what they want. This embattled spirit is followed by “deceit” (dolos), which means ‘trickery.’ These individuals are willing to lie to whoever so that they can acquire what they want. The last sin in this second section is “malice” (kakoetheia), which speaks of the malignant hatred that is foaming up inside of them. Section Three: Sinful Practices The third section begins by stating that these God-rejectors are “gossips” (psithyristes). That is, they are, literally, whisperers. They secretly murmur in hushed tones behind the backs of others. This pictures a clandestine conspiracy that is conceived in darkness. There is perverse plotting and sinister contriving behind the scenes for evil purposes. Nothing is out in the open, but depravity lurks unseen. They are “slanderers” (katalalos), which are those who defame others. The root of this evil is found in the next descriptive. They are “haters of God.” These who have rejected God do so because they hate Him. This sin is number twelve in this list of twenty-one evils, standing in the middle position. The heart of their problems is the problem of their hearts. Further, these same people are “insolent” (hybristes), which describes those who are ‘lifted up with pride.’ It portrays ‘a verbal attacker heaping insults on others.’ This is a prideful person who degrades them with insults. Also included among these are the “arrogant” (hyperephanos). This refers to those who ‘raise yourself up above others.’ Such an egotistical person possesses an overwhelming sense of self-importance. This pompous person is like a peacock strutting to hell. They are smiting their breast and pontificating about their own greatness with no regard for the well being of others. When it seems that this could not be any darker, this society sinks yet lower. They are described as being “inventors of evil.” This is to say, they concoct new forms of wickedness that earlier would have been totally unimaginable. It is inconceivable what baser evils could be devised by reprobate men, but they invent new categories of sin that did not previously exist. Pushing the boundaries further than they have ever gone, they invent a whole new stratosphere of sin than had been previously known. Next, Paul writes they are “disobedient to parents.” This sin of child rebellion was so serious in the Old Testament that it required the death penalty. They have no regard for authority, and this lawlessness begins in the home. Submission to authority must be learned at home, but here it does not. When obedience by children to their parents is gone, a society is set on a course of anarchy that knows no limits. Where there is no regard for one’s parents, this moral breakdown leads to disregard for the civil or criminal law. There is no respect for any institutional authority in the classroom, the workplace, and government. They become like lawless gang members with no compliance for any authority. Here every man is doing what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25) and is willing to kill others to get their own way. Section Four: Sinful Perversions The fourth category of this moral decline begins in verse 31, and each of these descriptions start with the same prefix a, which is translated into English as “un.” The first result of God’s judgment is they are “without understanding” (asynetos). That is to say, they are without any intelligent thought concerning God or morality. This renders them incapable of any decision-making. They have no comprehension who God is, what His moral law is, or what any common decency is. They do not understand the truth of God at even the most basic level. Their consciences are seared as with a hot iron. Right and wrong are indistinguishable to them. The next aspect of this corrupt culture is “untrustworthy” (asynthetos), which means ‘covenant breakers.’ Their pledge to do something no longer means what they say. They think nothing to break their marriage vows or a business contract whenever it is to their own advantage. They are a people without any principle, doing whatever is most expedient to fulfill their selfish desires. Lastly, Paul writes they are “unloving” (astorgos) and “unmerciful” (aneleemon). The idea is that there is no compassion for those who are in need. Their only desire is self-gratification, while having no regard for the good of others. This is the inevitable result of their rejecting God. This has been the moral decline of countless societies and empires, whether it be Sodom and Gomorrah or the Roman Empire. Even so, it is happening before our eyes today, yet with lower descents into depravity. Any civilization that rejects God will not long survive, but will self-implode from within. These are the telltale signs of the death of any godless society. We are currently living in the midst of it, up to our nostrils. IV. Society’s rebellion against god (1:32) As this section concludes, Paul reinforces the final mark of those who reject God and, in turn, are abandoned by Him. The apostle reaches the bottom of the barrel as he now writes, “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them” (verse 32). The apostle reiterates the fundamental reason why they are given over by God to lives of greater sin. Even though they “know the ordinance of God,” referring to the moral law of God, they, nevertheless, continue to reject it in order to live for sin. Romans 2:14-15 says that God has written the moral law upon their hearts. The conscience of every person bears witness within them concerning what is right and wrong. It is like a built-in alarm that informs them of what is pleasing to God and what is not. It tells them when they have crossed the line established by God and entered into forbidden territory. But in this case, even though they know the law of God, their conscience no longer restrains their evil. Unchecked and unbridled, they “practice such things” as a sinful lifestyle. Thus, they “are worthy of death” (verse 32). This death is the second death, which is eternal death in hell. Not only do they commit such sins, but they “give hearty approval to those who practice them.” At this low point, society is now so deviant that they applaud these debaucheries. These shameful acts are no longer hidden in the closet, but are strutting down main street for all to see. They are proud and defiant in their evil ways. This flagrant immorality causes television ratings to soar. To produce and promote such wickedness is good business. It sells more copy and expands their viewing audience, because this is what corrupt people want. This depravity only increases, because the collective society is giving its “hearty approval.” This is the downward trajectory on which we find the world in this present hour. Our decaying societies are on the slippery slope, descending into the flames of hell. Our nation is nearing the bottom of immorality. There is only one hope to pull out of this death spiral. It is what Paul declared in Romans 1:16. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe.” We cannot change the culture by petitioning city hall. We cannot change the downward plunge of society by lobbying our politicians. We cannot hope to change the day by merely voting in certain candidates into office. We should do all we can to influence the civil process toward common decency. But legislation is not going to change the deceitful hearts of people. Only the power of God unleashed through the working of the gospel can explode in lives and reverse this downward course. Conclusion We must be sobered by this divine abandonment. We must have the realization of what is going on in our world today. We must have a Christian worldview and see what is transpiring around us with the mind of Christ. We cannot do everything, but what we can do we must do. And what we must do, let us purpose to do. We must do all that we can to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through our churches, Bible studies, and personal witnessing, we must work through every means possible. We must give resources, books, and tracks to people in need of the Lord. We must get the word of God out, however we can. This task of world evangelization is beyond any one of us. But we must do what we can do. We cannot sit back passively while people around us are perishing. God has always worked through a remnant in any nation. God works through the few to affect the many. That way God receives the glory, when He works through a handful of disciples to alter the course of history.

Abandoned by God – Romans 1:24-27

OnePassion Ministries March 8, 2017

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Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. Among the many distinguishing features of the Bible is that it addresses mankind in such a frank and straightforward manner. The Scripture is a most outspoken book. It never sugarcoats the message and never beats around the bush. The Bible always tells it like it is, even when it brings a bad report about man. If we have trouble with what the Bible says, it is because it speaks so directly and candidly. The Bible never pulls any punches with us. It never softens the hard blows of truth. To the contrary, the Bible always speaks forthrightly in a most direct manner. The passage for this study is no exception. Here is portrayed the graphic reality of the world in its age-long rebellion against its Creator. This passage brings an indictment of condemnation upon fallen mankind for its prolonged rebellion against God. By this brutally honest charge, it may be rightly assumed that the Bible is, indeed, the written word of living God. If we had been charged to write the book of Romans, we might have been tempted to leave out this section from our assessment of the human race. We might have felt it too negative to win over our audience. Even if we did include these verses, we would have hidden them at the end of this letter, where it would not have been read by most readers. But not the apostle Paul. Writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he intentionally positioned these verses at the very beginning of this book. Here it is for all to read, front and center – God’s abandonment of the human race in its rejection of Him. No one can read this book without being immediately confronted with the radical corruption of the human race. Even more sobering is the unbelieving world’s abandonment by God. Here is the shocking reality that God has forsaken those who have repeatedly forsaken Him. There is nothing more terrifying than what we see here. When a person is turned over by God to his sins, he has reached the point of no return. This tragic reality has occurred to nations, cultures, and denominations. It has occurred to countless individuals down through the centuries. Here is the only explanation for much of the moral collapse that we see in the world around us. I. abandonment declared (1:24a) This new paragraph starts with the word “therefore” (verse 24), which points back to what Paul previously said and connects it with what he presently writes. “Therefore” serves as a bridge that connects what he just said (verses 18-23) with what he will now say (verses 24-32). This important word leads to the necessary conclusion based upon what he just asserted. “Therefore” advances his argument further. In order to understand Paul’s unfolding logic, we must remind ourselves of what he wrote in the previous verses in which he described mankind’s intentional rejection of the knowledge of God. In the preceding paragraph, Paul declared that the human race has committed the most flagrant crime. They have rejected the knowledge of God with an ungrateful heart. When anyone refuses the truth about God, he has chosen a path that is taking him further away from God. Such hardened unbelief places a person on a dramatic departure sending Him further away from God. This person is like a boat that was once tied to a dock. But a powerful river current has unloosened its rope, causing the boat to drift downstream. The longer the boat is drifting, the more it is being pulled into the swifter current. This, in turn, is taking the boat further away from the dock. In like manner, these God-rejectors are adrift from the knowledge of God. This is taking them further away from Him. From this sobering truth, we learn that no person is ever stationary or static in their relationship with God. Everyone is either drawing closer to God or drifting further away from Him. But no one is standing still in their proximity to Him. By this account, those who reject God are drifting further away into the darkness of sin. At a point known only to God, this rejection of Him inevitably leads to divine abandonment. Paul writes, “God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity” (verse 24). This is a severe judgment issued by God in which He delivers them over to deeper sins. There are some Bible commentators who presume that this means that God merely allows sinful man to go his own way. While initially that may be true, that is not what this verse says. To the contrary, this pronouncement is far more severely judicial. God is the One who is taking the active role in this severe judgment. This is not God merely observing or permitting men to go their own way. It is not God simply letting go of the rope and allowing the current of sin take this individual further away from Him. Instead, God is the One who is shoving this life downstream. This is God saying, “So, you want to go away from Me? Then I am going to give you a shove in that direction you want to go. I am going to send you further away from Me.” There comes a point in time, whether it is with a God-rejecting nation, a Scripture-defying denomination, church, or seminary, or a gospel-refusing individual, when God gives them a shove in the direction they want to go. This abandonment by God turns them over to the devastating judgment of becoming yet further engrossed in their sin. “God Gave Them Over” The verb “gave them over” (paradidomi) means ‘to be handed over to judgment.’ This same word is used elsewhere in Romans to describe when Jesus Christ was delivered over by God unto His judgment for our sins. Paul writes that Jesus “was delivered over because of our transgressions” (Romans 4:25). This verb describes Him being given over to the judgment of God upon the cross when He bore our sins. We see this word used the same way in Romans 8:32, when Paul writes, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over.” Jesus was delivered over unto the most stringent judgment imaginable for our sins upon the cross. He suffered under the full force of the holy wrath of God as He died in the place of sinners. He was abandoned by the Father upon the cross and only the damned in hell know what He experienced. This is precisely the same verb, paradidomi, that Paul uses in Romans 1:24 when he writes, “Therefore, God gave them over.” Those who repeatedly reject God are in danger of being sentenced to a similar judgment that Jesus endured. They are perilously close to suffering a similar divine abandonment because they have abandoned Him. It is soul-threatening – and possibly even soul-damning – for any person to reject the knowledge of God. Everyone is held accountable by God for the truth that is revealed to them. When a person defiantly rejects the knowledge of God, he may find himself given over unto divine judgment. So emphatic is Paul about this divine abandonment of persistent sinners that he repeats these sobering words – “gave them over” – three times in these five verses (verses 24, 26, 28). After saying “God gave them over” (verse 24), Paul says a second time, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions” (verse 26). Then the apostle writes a third time, “Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over” (verse 28). In rapid-fire succession, we see this sobering truth reinforced three times. It is impossible to miss the devastating force of this three-fold pronouncement of divine judgment. Sending a Deluding Influence This severe abandonment by God of impenitent sinners is not an isolated truth that is only is taught in this passage. Paul describes this same divine judgment in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.” Who is sending this deluding influence? Who is causing someone to believe a lie? Is this Satan at work? Are these demons causing this unbelief? The fact is that this deluding influence is being sent by none other than God Himself. In this case, the knowledge of God that a person has received becomes deluded. The word “deluding” (energeia) means ‘a working of error, a straying to a wrong opinion, to be led into error.’ God will send a deceiving influence so that those who repeatedly reject the truth will believe what is false. This divine intervention causes them to believe what is false. Being forsaken by God, these unbelievers plunge into deeper levels of unbelief. This causes them to believe a damning lie. By this startling verse, we learn that God is the primary cause that leads them further away from the truth. Paul explains why God gives them over. It is, “in order that they may be judged” (2 Thessalonians 1:12). Being turned over to their sin is the judgment of God. Why does God judge them? It is because when they heard the truth, they “did not believe the truth.” When the truth about God was presented to them, they blatantly rejected it. Because they turned away from the knowledge of God, He gave them a shove in the direction they chose to go. God sent this hardening influence that causes them to believe the lies of the devil. This is not against their will, but consistent with it. Jesus explains this, “whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (Matthew 13:12). In other words, if a person does not act upon the truth when it is made known to him, he is in danger of losing what he has. Elsewhere, He said, “So take care how you listen…and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him (Luke 8:18). What truth he has will be taken from him if he does not respond to it by faith. Taking Pleasure in Wickedness In Romans, we discover that these who did not believe the truth, “took pleasure in wickedness” (verse 24). When a person does not believe the truth, they will pursue the opposite, which is loving sin. Because they rejected the light, God will cause them to delight in the darkness. Their refusal of the truth causes them to live for wickedness. There is no neutral ground here. There is no middle position concerning the knowledge of God. If a person rejects the light, he will be given over to the darkness. Because he refuses the light, God will push him further into the blackness of lawlessness. When Wisdom Refuses to Answer We see this same truth in the opening chapter of Proverbs with the teaching of Solomon. When wisdom calls out to those passing by, countless individuals foolishly reject its appeal. But when calamity comes, they will call out to wisdom. But wisdom will refuse to heed their call. Instead, wisdom rebukes these people, saying: Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices (Proverbs 1:24-31). This stresses the critical nature of answering wisdom whenever it calls to us. We must immediately embrace it. If a person deliberately denies divine wisdom, God will turn this person over to darker sins. Such a person will never see the light again. II. Abandonment Described (1:24b) Having announced this abandonment, Paul advances his argument. He states that God gave them over “in the lust of their heart to impurity” (1:24). This “lust” (epithumia) that grips their heart is a strong craving for sin that is forbidden. This longing for evil refers to the vile passions that have been bound up in their depraved heart. The prophet writes, “The heart is deceitful above all else and desperately wicked. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). This means that the unconverted heart is sinful beyond any human comprehension. It is far more wicked than any man’s imagination can conjure. When Paul says that God abandoned them “in the lust of their hearts to impurity,” he means that they are descending downward from bad to worse. The strong desire of “lust” leads to sensual acts of “impurity.” They are plunging lower and lower to a deeper involvement in wickedness. Such a person finds himself with both feet on the slippery slope of immorality. It is rapidly plummeting downward to baser forms of impurity. When God gives them over, He sends them into yet baser sins of defilement. This “impurity” (akatharsia) speaks of various kinds of immorality in profligate living. Paul uses it elsewhere, “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity but for sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:7). Here, “impurity” refers to “sexual immorality” (verse 3). This word “impurity” is also found in Galatians 5:19, “Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident, immorality, impurity, sensuality,” and many other sins. In this verse, “immorality” is a broad word that includes every category of sexual deviation. It encompasses every sexual perversion that is outside of the husband-wife relationship. It covers every filthy sexual act, from pornography to adultery, bestiality, and deeds improper to mention. When a person rejects God, he may find himself on a course that spirals downward, leading to “sensuality” (aselgeia), which is wanton fleshly, sinful desires. Paul specifies the result, “so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (verse 24). To be “dishonored” (atimazo) describes all kinds of shameful sexual acts committed in their bodies. Paul is designating sexual sin as being in a special category unto itself. It is a self-inflicted destruction that does damaging harm to one’s own body. He states elsewhere, “Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). He is saying that sexual sin is the most unique in its character. It rises from within the body that is driven by personal gratification. It affects the body like no other sin. Describing sexual activity outside of marriage, the Bible asks, “Can a man take a fire into his bosom and be not burned?” (Proverbs 6:27). This question is rhetorical, anticipating an obvious, negative answer. The one who commits sexual sin is playing with a consuming fire. All sexual sin is a self-damaging sin and destroys a person like no other sin. Any society that rejects God and His truth will find itself devolving downward into baser sins. No culture that refuses the divine standard is evolving upward to a higher level of morality. Every society is descending into a cesspool of iniquity. These who reject the knowledge of God find themselves wallowing in lower forms of immoral filth. Whenever any society or nation rejects the knowledge of God, it descends into unrestrained sexual immorality. Whenever a religious group or church denomination choses a course that rejects the clear teaching of God’s word, it will eventually tolerate and even endorse immorality. This will even be true of the lifestyle of its own pastors and membership. That group will be like a dump truck, barreling down a hill without any brakes. The runaway truck picks up speed as it plummets down the hill, until it crashes at the bottom, where it empties its trash on the landscape. So it is with any people who reject the truth of God. They will be abandoned by god and given over to lower and lower immoral filth. III. abandonment explained (1:25) Next, Paul clarifies why God is opposed to such sinners. He writes, “for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (verse 25). That is, they once had the truth of God made known to them. But they cast it aside. Instead, they believed a lie. Consequently, they “worshipped and served the creature” (verse 25). This restates what Paul wrote earlier, that they “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (verse 23). How could anyone end up in such a degrading place? It is quite simple. They rejected the knowledge of God when it was made known to them. They find themselves groping in greater darkness, grasping for anything to worship. Many worship a man-made idol. Others worship their own body. Still others worship their possessions. Yet others worship their career. But they worship something or someone other than God. What is an idol? It may be the form of a false deity that is cut out of wood or stone. But an idol can also be anything that a person loves more than God. It is anything that one fears more than God. It is anything that one serves more than Him. An idol is anything that a person prizes and pursues more important than God. An idol is not necessarily something that is evil in itself. An idol can be something that is intrinsically good. An idol can be something as noble as a job that provides money for one’s family. It can be something good like a spouse or a child. It is anything that a person prioritizes above God. The Bible says, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). Earlier, the apostle has written, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). An idol is anything in the world that a person loves more than God. Everyone worships something. When people reject the knowledge of God, they are going to give their affections and allegiance to something else. Whatever that something is, it becomes an idol, whether crafted with their hands or conceived with their minds. Whatever a person worships, he will serve wholeheartedly. Whatever a person worships, he will give it his time and resources. What a person is preoccupied with determines what he is going to serve. Such misplaced affections cause an individual to serve the creature rather than the Creator. “God is Blessed Forever” In this heavy section on divine judgment, the apostle suddenly erupts in a celebration of praise: “The Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (verse 25). God is “blessed forever” (verse 25) means “Blessed be God.” “Blessed” is the Greek word (eulogetos) from which we derive the English word ‘eulogy.’ This literally means ‘to say a good word.’ Here, “blessed” is used synonymously with giving praise to God. As Paul considers the divine judgment from which he has been delivered, he gives a good word about God, who must be praised. Paul cannot mention God, even in judgment, without bursting into praise for Him. In the midst of this condemning passage, the mere mention of the Creator causes Paul to declare his praise. This may seem an odd place to record a celebration, but Paul simply cannot withhold his adoration. He cannot postpone declaring the greatness of God. He must declare his adoration for God, who alone is glorious and worthy of praise. In this heavy section on condemnation, Paul expresses his declaration of worship of God. There is no place when our praise for God is out of place. The praise of God should be offered “forever” (aion). This means, it must be given to ‘an unbroken age,’ or ‘throughout the ages to come.’ That is, there should never be an end to the praise that he gives to God. Paul punctuates this call for eternal praise to God by saying, “Amen.” This word (amen) means, ‘it is so’ or ‘it is true.’ The declaration of his “Amen” is a strong affirmation that God is, indeed, blessed in Himself. Further, Paul is not backing off of what he has said about God’s abandonment wrath. There is no apology for these strong words. There is only his hearty “Amen.” He is saying “Amen” to every hard truth he has taught in this section. Paul loves all that God is and all that He does. This includes the unleashing of His fierce, divine judgment. For this vengeance, he must resound in praise for Him. III. abandonment Increased (1:26) Paul continues building his case when he says, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.” These “passions” (pathos) are “degrading” (atimia), meaning they are ‘disgraceful, dishonoring, shameful, vial, depraved.’ It describes the fomenting lust in a person’s flesh. What do these evil passions produce? Paul begins his argument with the women: “For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural” (verse 26). Their natural function would be for these women to marry a man and bear children. It would be for them to have an intimate sexual relationship with their own husband. The result of such a close union would be to produce a family. That is the way God designed a spouse relationship to be. But these women, who are abandoned by God, “exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.” This is the bizarre trade of a man for a woman. When a woman has degrading passions for another of her same gender, this is entirely contrary to God’s design. Any such lesbian activity is a flagrant violation of the divine plan. Because they reject the knowledge of God, they commit this gross sin. They have rejected the knowledge of God and have exchanged the truth for a degrading lie. Consequently, God gives over these women to desire other women. They have swapped the brilliant design of God for an insane lie. Therefore, God will see to it that they trade their natural desire toward men for the unnatural desire for women. Because they made this exchange of the truth for a lie, God will cause them to exchange the natural function for an abnormal function. He will cause a woman to desire another woman. The rejection of God inevitably leads to yet grosser sexual sins. But this abandonment by God does not stop there. IV. Abandonment Intensified (1:27) Paul continues to trace this descent downward into grosser sexual sins. He adds, “and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (verse 27). Regarding the male gender, the natural function is for a man to marry a woman and have a sexual relationship with her. The result of this union produces an offspring. But those who are abandoned by God have abandoned the natural attraction for the opposite gender. They have strange sexual desires for other men. This divine desertion occurs because they rejected God. The root sin is unbelief, the fruit of this sin is homosexuality. Tragically, Paul writes that they “burned in their desire for one another, men with men committing indecent acts” (verse 27). This divine judgment leads to an increased sensual desire for those of the same sex. This attraction rages in an unquenchable “desire” (orexis). This means ‘an excitement of the mind’ that creates sensual fantasies in their lustful imaginations. This drive leads to unnatural physical appetites for other men. Consequently, this lust produces “men with men committing indecent acts.” “Indecent” (aschemosune) means ‘shameless’ or ‘unseemly.’ This enticing appeal for other men is the inevitable result of rejecting God. Paul concludes this section, they will be “receiving in their own person the due penalty of their error” (verse 27). The just penalty of their sin ends in eternal damnation. That is, they will be consigned to the fires of hell forever. The apostle states elsewhere that a practicing homosexual will never enter the kingdom of heaven. He writes, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals…will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The burning desire of men for men will end in the burning of both their soul and body in hell forever. There is no politically correct spin to put on this gross sin. This strong teaching against sin is diametrically opposed to what we, sadly, most often hear today. What Paul teaches could not be any further away from today’s popular teaching, especially in mainline, liberal churches. This teaching by Paul is a long way from, “Smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” So What? So what is the application for these verses? What does this truth require of us? How shall we respond to this truth? I want to give you several steps of action. 1. This Heightens Our Accountability to God First, this passage teaches that every one of us must be careful that we act upon the truth when it is made known to us. We must obey the truth whenever it is made known to us. We must not have a head full of knowledge, but fail to respond to it with our lives. The mere possession of knowledge about God is not going to advance us anywhere God wants us to be. We must obey the truth that is revealed to us. To know the truth, but not act upon it, will only increase our condemnation from God. It would be better not to know the truth, than to know the truth, but reject it. We can understand here the biblical case that there are degrees of punishment in hell. Eternal torment will not be the same for everyone. The more truth a person knows, the greater is his accountability to God. As believers, we will never go to hell. We are eternally secure in Christ. But there is a principle here, that God holds us responsible for the truth that is revealed to us. The point of this passage is clear. The greater the truth entrusted to us, the greater is our responsibility to believe and live it (Luke 12:48). The Bible says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren. Knowing as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). There is a far stricter judgment for those who know more truth than for those who know less truth. If you will not live the truth, it would be far better to attend a liberal church that does not preach the truth than to attend a Bible-teaching church and not live the truth. If you are going to go to hell, it would be far better to go to hell from Africa than to go to hell from Dallas, Texas. Do not go to the fires of perdition from hearing a strong gospel witness. It is critically important that every one of us respond to the truth whenever it is made known to us. 2. This Increases Our Sin Before God Second, the result of rejecting the knowledge of God inevitably leads to sexual perversions. Do not think that these deep sins against one’s own body appear mysteriously out of thin air. Do not think it is the result of bad DNA. It is crystal clear from this text that sexual perversions of the grossest order are the result of the rejection of the knowledge of God. We must guard our hearts in order to remain pure. We cannot allow our eyes and hearts to go where they are forbidden to go. We must refuse to look at pornography or whatever is defiled. We are fools to commit such a breach of God’s word. We might as well be playing with fire to allow this kind of an influence to enter our lives. Let us not kid ourselves. This sin starts with apathy towards the truth about God. As believers, we must not be lukewarm. Neither must we be marked by apathy or spiritual coldness. Any violation of this will lead us to where we do not want to be. Opening our lives to these things will be like living in the country with the front door wide open all night. Who knows what all animals will come in. When I went to sleep last night, the last thing I did was double-lock the hotel door.  When you reject the truth, you are opening your mind up to whatever the world is going to dump into it. 3. This necessitates God’s Grace in Us Third, any personal conversion to Jesus Christ is a miracle of sovereign grace. Do you see what a supernatural act it is for anyone to be saved out of their lifestyle of sin? Any sinner, who is converted to Christ, is like a brand plucked from the fire. It is only by the irresistible grace of God that any of us are converted to faith in Christ. No sinner is in a neutral spiritual state. Everyone without Christ is on the slippery slope leading to deeper sin. You may not have been given the divine push yet into further sin. Nevertheless, if you are without Christ, you are on the slippery slope. You are going down away from God. It is extraordinary intervention by which God reaches in and converts someone. This text in Romans makes anyone think, “Can anyone be saved?” Salvation is only by sovereign grace. It is a big deal of massive proportions that you are saved. 4. This Requires Our Witnessing For God Fourth, there must be a sense of urgency in our evangelism for the gospel of Jesus Christ. As those who are saved, we cannot sit back in apathy in our heart affections for Jesus Christ. The unbelieving hearts of unconverted people are being hardened. They are drifting further away from God. In their unbelief, they are being plunged deeper in their sin. In light of this reality, we must reach people with the gospel now. We cannot be passive, but must be active and persistent to win people without Christ. We cannot sit back in passivity. They are increasing in their downward descent away from God. We must preach the gospel now. However God can use you, you must reach out to win others to faith in Christ. This is like an intervention, where a family member comes into a den, and all of the sudden, there are twenty other family members in the room. They collectively say, “Dad, we have got to say something to you.” The whole family steps in with an intervention. We need some interruptions into people’s lives, when we say, “Dad, you are going to hell without Christ.” Or, “My friend, my business partner, ‘You are gambling your soul into hell.’” It is getting worse and worse, as they continue to reject God. There comes a point where they are no longer drifting with the current. God gives them a shove in that direction away from Himself. 5. This Increases Worship of God Fifth, we must worship God based upon what we know of God. Our theology in God must ignite our doxology for Him. Our understanding of God must produce our adoration of Him. The word of God must inspire our worship of Him. In the midst of this passage on total depravity, radical corruption, and the sinfulness of man, Paul bursts into praise. In like measure, so must we. As you are riding in the car, heading to your next business appointment, you need to praise God for who He is and for what He has done and is doing. If you are sitting at your desk, you need to praise God. Throughout the day, you need to give glory to God. That is precisely what we see Paul doing in this passage. In Romans 9:5, after Paul has just said in verse 2, “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.” Verse 3, “I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my kinsman.” In other words, he is saying, “I am willing to go to hell if that would mean they go to heaven.” Paul is so burdened for his fellow Jews that he says he could wish himself damned if it meant their salvation. In the midst of this intense, dramatic section, he says, “Christ…who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (verse 5). Even in the midst of this heavy section, he nevertheless praises God. In like manner, you and I should be praising God throughout the day. 6. This Demonstrates the Truth of God Sixth, this passage gives the only explanation for the moral collapse in the world around us. We are living in the midst of a godless society that can only be described by what we see in Romans 1. This text describes right where we live today. We do not have to go looking for this. We live in the midst of it. There is no escaping this. There is a blatantly obvious relevancy to this passage that is more up-to-date than tomorrow’s newspaper. This should sober us to the reality of what we are seeing take place all around us. How can mainline denomination ordain to ministry those living in open homosexual sin? The answer is quite simply. They rejected the authority of the Bible long ago. They rejected the virgin birth long ago. They rejected the deity of Christ long ago. They rejected the bodily resurrection long ago. They rejected the exclusivity of salvation in Christ long ago. Those were the greater sins of unbelief. This is where those sins lead a denomination. The inevitable result of rejecting the inspiration of Scripture is God giving a people over in judgment. In our next study, we will pick up at verse 28. There is one more statement of “God gave them over” that remains for us to examine. This is right where we presently are as a country. This is right where we are as a people. What we have just been examining, this is where many denominations are in their approval of immorality. This is where a lot of churches now find themselves.

No Excuse – Romans 1:19-23

OnePassion Ministries February 23, 2017

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Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (Romans 1:19-23). In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Rome in order to present his most profound case for the gospel. This is his magnum opus, his most extraordinary treatise for what the gospel is. In this theological argument, Paul begins his case with every person’s need for the gospel, which is, namely, the fact of the wrath of God upon every member of the sinful human race who is without Jesus Christ. The apostle starts here, because the good news of the gospel is never good news until you first know the bad news. Paul commences his presentation of the gospel with the wrath of God, because the entire human race apart from Christ is under His fierce anger. Therefore, the whole world desperately needs the saving message of Jesus Christ. Everyone of us needs the gospel. Further, everyone that you and I will meet today as we go to our places of business, everyone with whom we rub shoulders during the day, is in dire need of this gospel. Apart from this truth, sinners are under the wrath of Almighty God. What is the wrath of God? The word wrath (orge) refers to His settled, determined indignation against sinful mankind. It is His holy vengeance that reacts in judgment against all that is unholy. It is His righteous indignation and fierce anger against all that does not conform to His perfect character. In the book of Romans, Paul pulls no punches, but repeatedly addresses this aspect of God’s perfect holiness (1:18; 2:5,8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; 12:19). This is where Paul begins his argument for the gospel, when he wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (verse 18). This is the divine wrath that is presently being revealed against all unrighteousness, wherever it is on the earth. Apart from the gospel, all mankind is under divine judgment and condemnation. This declaration of sinful mankind’s condemnation is very graphic and grim. Paul certainly does not tell us what we want to hear. Instead, he tells us what we need to hear. The apostle does not sugar coat the truth, but tells it like it is in straightforward fashion. There is no fine print in what he writes. This truth is made known in large print. I would remind us, this teaching on divine wrath is placed at the very beginning of the book of Romans. Paul does not hold back this bad news until the end of his letter because it is so unpalatable. Rather, he front-loads this subject at the very outset of Romans. This assertion of divine anger against sin is direct, emphatic, and even abrupt. The apostle makes no apologies for God’s holy wrath. There is no attempt to tone down this sober reality that threatens all who are without the gospel. This is the unvarnished truth from God, flowing through the pen of the apostle Paul. Whether a person has heard the name of Christ or not, he is guilty before God. Such a person is under eternal condemnation just like the person who has heard the gospel and rejected it. The human race has been weighed in the divine balances of inflexible justice and are all found wanting. There is no excuse that any sinner can offer God to escape his condemnation in the final judgment. On the last day, Paul says that every mouth will be closed before God (Romans 3:19). No guilty sinner can open his mouth to render a counter-argument against God. As we come to the verses for this study, Paul teaches that God has made Himself known to every man (verses 19-20). However, every person has rejected this knowledge of God (verses 21-22) and replaced it with idolatrous thoughts of another god of their own making (1:23). I. The Revelation of God (1:19) Paul writes, “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them” (verse 19). Here, Paul is describing God’s revelation of Himself to all people. This is what theologians call general revelation. To be clear, there are two different kinds of revelation by which God has made Himself known to mankind. These two categories are general revelation and special revelation. We have to keep those two categories distinct. Let us consider each. General Revelation The first category is general revelation, which is the self-disclosure of God in a general, non-saving way. It is called general because this knowledge about God is made known to the entire human race. There is no one on planet earth, on any continent, on any island, who has not received general revelation about God. General revelation reveals the existence of God and makes known His attributes. But it does not reveal the way to know God. This knowledge of God is sufficient to condemn, but it is not sufficient to save. As Paul writes in verse 19, he is referring to general revelation. He is addressing what is generally revealed by God, about Himself, to all men. When Paul writes in verse 19, “that which is known about God,” he is referring to the truth about His existence and attributes. When he explains that this knowledge “is evident,” he means that this truth about God is clearly seen. It is obvious to all people. This divine self-disclosure is out in the open. The fact of God’s existence is not hidden from the human race. No matter where a person is on planet earth, the reality of the person of the person of God is glaringly obvious to all. At the end of verse 19, Paul further explains, “for God made it evident to them.” This is an important statement, because no man has ever found God on his own. God must take the initiative to reveal Himself to man. God must make the truth about Himself evident. If God is to be known, He must act first and disclose Himself to the human race. Special Revelation The second category is special revelation, which is what we have in His written word (verses 2,17). This revelation is often referred to as saving revelation because it is absolutely necessary for someone to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Special revelation is a fuller disclosure by which God reveals to mankind the way to know Him. This saving revelation is found exclusively in the written word, which alone tells us about the living Word, Lord Jesus Christ. What we know of the person of Christ and the plan of salvation is found in the written word of God. Paul will tell us later in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” No one can be saved without hearing the gospel, which is found in special revelation. That is why we preach the gospel to the world. That is why we must send missionaries. That is why we must go to the ends of the earth to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ to people who have never heard of Him. No one can be saved merely by general revelation. They can only come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by the special revelation found in the Bible. No matter where a person is in the world, God is speaking to them. It is the very nature of God to be revealing Himself to mankind. Francis Schaeffer wrote a book many years ago entitled God is There and He is Not Silent. Schaeffer argues this very point, that God is a speaking God, who is always revealing Himself throughout the whole earth. II. The Reality of God (1:20) Paul enlarges what he has said when he writes, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” (verse 20). This says that God has revealed Himself to man from the beginning of the world. This divine self-disclosure started long before the New Testament times in which Paul writes. This revelation of God started before the call of Abraham and the birth of the nation of Israel. This manifestation of God started before the Tower of Babel or the flood in the days of Noah. This general revelation of God began at the creation of the world. God is Omnipotent The apostle explains that creation itself reveals “His invisible attributes.” This refers to the divine attributes that belong to the person of God. Paul specifies one of these attributes when he next mentions, “His eternal power.” Anyone can look at creation and logically surmise that it was made by and is controlled by a Creator who possesses power beyond human comprehension. A person would have to be blind to the clear reality before him in order to deny the power of this Creator. Such a person would have to create an illogical explanation for the origin of the universe. Creation implies and even demands the reality of a Creator. Anyone should be able to look at creation and conclude how powerful must be its Creator. A person should be able to conclude that its Maker must be very powerful to have filled the vast oceans with water, heaped up the towering mountains, laid the foundation for the continental masses, and hung the sun, the moon, and the planets in outer space. This Creator must be awesome in His power, far beyond man’s greatest imagination. His might far exceeds any power that any human can conceive. God is Eternal The general revelation about God’s being also communicates His “eternal power.” The Creator must have existed before His creation. There had to have been an initial first cause from which – or more correctly, from Whom – everything else is the subsequent effect. The only reasonable explanation that there can be is that God Himself is this sole first cause for all that exists in the universe. If there was ever a time when there was no God, then there could not be anything. The fact that there is creation demands, logically, philosophically, and biblically the only rational conclusion that there was a first cause that brought into being everything ex nihilo, that is, out of nothing. An all-powerful, eternal God is the only adequate explanation for the existence of the universe. No explosion of gases or chemical reactions could have created everything out of nothing. What would be the origin of those elements? There had to be an outside force who created everything, and that is God. God is All-Wise Any look at creation also reveals that God is stunningly brilliant in His design of the universe. He is able to create with perfect wisdom that reveals His own perfections. Consider how the earth is precisely tilted on its axis at the exact angle it is, spinning at the correct rate of speed in 24-hour rotations. Think of the pinpoint accuracy in the distance of the earth from the sun. If the earth were any closer to the sun, it would burn up. If this planet was any further away, it would freeze. As the earth spins, it is perfectly exposed to the sun so that there can be the growth of plant life. This is a revelation of the perfect wisdom of God. Consider the many rivers of the earth flow into the vast oceans, the evaporation of water in the forming of clouds, and the moving of those clouds by the wind over the landmass. Consider the rain that ensues, the dropping of the water back onto the landmass, the way that it runs off into streams, how the streams flow into the rivers, and the rivers back into the ocean. This is nothing less than the brilliant design of God. As anyone looks at creation, he should see the sheer genius of the Creator on display. My father was a professor in medical school for several decades. He told me that he would be a Christian if the only proof of God in creation he had was the human eye. He explained to me that the detailed craftsmanship of the human eye is beyond any explanation apart from there being a Master Designer who created it. And that is just one small part of our human body that testifies to the existence of God. “Understood Through What Has Been Made” Moreover, we see the faithfulness of God in creation through the rotation of the seasons of the year, year after year. We see His unfailing faithfulness through the coming of the harvest every year. We see His consistent reliability through God providing food for the human race day after day, as we live upon the earth. We see the wrath and anger of God as we look at the hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. We see the peace of God in the calm after the storm. God has made His “divine nature” known to every single person through what He has made. To believe that all that exists merely happened by sheer chance or random fate, or that everything has created itself, is absolute non-sense. Paul adds that God’s self-existence and divine nature are “clearly seen” in creation. That is to say, His being is not merely dimly revealed in what He has made. Neither are His attributes only faintly observed in creation. Instead, it is plainly witnessed to mankind, as clear as in broad daylight. Paul contends that the truth of God’s existence and character is “understood through what has been made.” This general revelation of the person of God, Paul says, is made known so that every person is “without excuse.” There is no person who will be able to stand before God on the last day and say that He did not reveal that He exists. By general revelation, the entire world is rendered accountable to God. IiI. The Rejection of God (1:21-22) But despite this clear revelation of God, men, by and large, have rejected it. The world is not gladly receiving this truth concerning the existence and character of God. Rather than desiring more knowledge about God, the very opposite is occurring. Though God has made Himself known to all people, they have chosen to turn away from this truth and reject it. This refusal underscores what Paul will write later regarding the total depravity of the human heart: “There is none who understands, none who seeks for God” (Romans 3:11). Because of their inherent sinful corruption, they turn away from God rather than seek Him. Paul further explains, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks” (verse 21). This does not mean they “knew” God in a saving relationship. Rather, it simply means that they knew about God. What they knew about God is the general revelation of Himself that is mentioned in verse 19. Paul states that even when they knew about God, “they did not honor Him as God.” That is, they did not give Him the glory He rightly deserves. They did not bow down before Him and call upon Him. They did not humble themselves beneath this God and pursue to know Him. Paul adds, neither did they “give thanks.” That is, they did not acknowledge God as the source of all good in their lives. They did not express gratitude to Him for all that He had provided for them. They did not give thanks for the food they eat, nor for the rain they receive. They did not give thanks for the breath they take. They took for granted these many provisions that God gave them. And they certainly did not give thanks for the self-revelation that God had given them. “Futile in their Speculations” When a person rejects the truth about God, it puts him in a very dangerous place. We see the result of their rejection of God as Paul continues, “They became futile in their speculations” (verse 21). That they became “futile” (mataioo) means their thinking became ‘useless, worthless, vain, foolish.’ They conjured up in their darkened minds empty speculations about who God is. They began to have vain imaginations about God that have no basis in reality whatsoever. They began to create with their hands images of what they perceived God to be like. In doing so, these God-rejectors became idolaters, who create self-conceived gods of their own insane imagination. This idol-crafting is the direct result of rejecting the truth about God when it was made known to them. Paul says, they became futile “in their speculations.” He uses the word “speculations” (dialogismos) in a degrading manner. Paul rightly accuses them of inventing base concepts about God that are inane and nonsensical. They become plagued with empty thoughts about what they think God is like that are utterly false and, worse, blasphemous. Paul emphatically asserts that, “their foolish heart became darkened.” This word “foolish” (moros) comes from the Greek word from which we derive the English word ‘moron.’ He is saying that these God-rejectors became moronic, incapable of having rational thoughts about God. Rejecting the light always increases the darkness. The sin of rejecting the truth about God inevitably results in a devastating effect upon anyone’s thinking processes. Rejecting divine truth always short-circuits man’s rational abilities. Paul says, their foolish heart was “darkened.” Rejecting the light, their hearts became darkened. God blew out the candle and left them to grope in the dark about who He is and what He is like. “Professing to be Wise” Paul succinctly states, “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (verse 22). This arrogant claim to be wise documents how self-deceived fallen mankind is. They declare themselves to be wise, beating their own chest, and elevating themselves in their own sin-blinded eyes. They proclaim the brilliance of their own intellect, thinking they are wiser than the One who made them. The result, Paul states, “they became fools.” Instead of being wise, the outcome was the total opposite. They became absolute fools who are incapable of any sound thinking about God and the ultimate issues in life such as: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is life about? What is my purpose? How am I to live? What is death? What awaits me after death? Here is the tragic plight of the human race. As we observe the world around us, who among us is not seeing our society unraveling before our eyes? What we are seeing before us is the reality of these very verses Agnosticism and atheism are on the rise, as we are seeing those verses lived out on a daily basis before us. IV. The Replacement of God (1:23) The end result of this rejection of God is found in the next verse. Please note this downward spiral that descends into greater darkness from the revelation of God (verses 19-20), to the rejection of this truth about God (verse 21), to the insanity that results (verses 21b-22), to the replacement of God with idolatry (verse 23). Idolatry is not man climbing upward with higher thoughts about God. Idolatry is the total opposite. It is man spiraling down into a lower state of debased thinking and depraved living (verses 24-32). The Terrible Exchange The inevitable consequence of rejecting the truth about God is devastating. Paul writes that they “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (verse 23). This replacement of the glory of God for the grossness of the creature is a destructive exchange. This trade is giving up treasures of truth diamonds for the trash of lies. This is buying high and selling low of the worst sort. They exchanged the inestimable value of divine truth for what is worthless. That God is “incorruptible” (aphthartos) means that He is never decaying, never dying. These God-rejectors substitute the “glory” (doxa) of this incorruptible God – which means the outshining radiance of this knowledge of God – “for an image in the form of corruptible man.” They trade the knowledge of the ever-living God for pieces of wood and metal that are crafted into the image of a man. They then bowed down before these man-crafted images and worshiped what their own hands produced. How insane can insane be? How base can a mind be? How low can the human mind sink? Yet, this is what idolaters do. These God-rejectors then devolve even lower into the gutter. They worship images of “birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” This is exactly the foul dregs into which the Egyptian dynasty had sunk. This is exactly the spiritual darkness in which the Babylonian kingdom had been submerged. This is exactly where the Assyrian kingdom had fallen. This is where Abraham was in Ur of the Chaldees, as a moon-worshipper, when God called him. Rather than worshipping the Creator, Abraham was worshipping the creation that God had made. How blind can blind be? How foolish can foolish be? The Downward Spiral In the verses that follow, we will discover that this downward death spiral does not end with idolatry. There are yet even lower steps leading further down the slippery slope into grosser debauchery that go from worse to worse. In verse 24, Paul will announce that God will give these idolaters over into judgment. When God gives them over, there are three lower rungs on the ladder as man is still moving further and further and further away from Him. No one is actually seeking God. The very opposite is true. According to the doctrine of total depravity, men are running away from the knowledge of God in their ignorance. Their fingers are in their ears, lest they hear the truth about God. They cover their eyes, lest they see something. We read, “God gave them over in the lusts of their heart to impurity” (verse 24). Then, “God gave them over to degrading passions” (verse 26). Finally, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (verse 28). This downward descent of mankind ends with as low morality as can be (verse 32). People are involved in the grossest of sins, the world is actually giving approval to these debaucheries. The approval ratings go up the more wicked and vile and depraved it becomes. There is no shame. This is a sobering picture of the downward decline of the human race. The human race has started at the high point of receiving the knowledge of God, but then adamantly rejected it. They then exchanged the knowledge of God for their own hand-made idols. Consequently, God has given this segment of the human race over to its own degrading passions. This slippery slope starts with monotheism, the recognition that there is only one God. But it devolves into man creating his own gods. This leads into polytheism, the creation of other gods according to man’s own vain imaginations. What we have predicted here is the often repeated history of the human race. We have the history of culture, society, and nations. It starts with the knowledge of God, followed by the rejection of this truth. This, in turn, sends man into a free-fall in which he is going further away from God. There will come a point where God will abandon such societies, giving them a push in the direction they have chosen to go. At that point, they rarely find their way back to God, apart from divine intervention. How Shall We Then Live? What are the implications of the truth we have examined in these verses? What does this passage say about our responsibility to God? What do these verses require of us? What positive application can there be from such negative statements? Give Glory to God First, we must be careful to do the very opposite of what we see described in these verses. Paul relates, “they did not honor Him as God or give thanks” (verse 21). We must pursue the antithesis of what is depicted here. We must be those who give glory to God. We must be worshipers of God. We must bow down before this one true God and come to Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only way we can find access to come before His throne of grace. You and I have been created to worship God. We are not to worship the creation, but the Creator. As you and I live, we must be those who give glory to God as an ongoing lifestyle. We must do this not just on Sunday mornings from 11 to 12, but every moment of every day. We must be giving glory to God on Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, and Friday night, throughout the entire week. The Westminster Catechism begins by asking that most important question: What is the chief end of man? The answer is: To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. This is our response. We must live contrary to what we see in Romans1:21-23. We must be those who give glory to God and worship Him. Give Thanks to God Second, we must be giving thanks to God in everything. If unbelievers withhold the giving of thanks to God, we must be those who give Him thanks for what He has down for us and what He is to us. Worshipers cannot be complainers. We cannot be whiners or grumblers. We must be those who are continually giving thanks to our God. Even on our deathbed, we should have an anthem of thanksgiving arising from our lips. We must give thanks to God for small things, for big things, for His provision for us, for His protection, for His care, for His providence in our lives, for His Son, for grace, for salvation. Let us rise up and give Him thanks. The largest part of our gratitude arises from the fact that God has had mercy upon our once spiritually dead soul. We have been plucked as a brand out of the fire. That God would have set us apart, out of this corrupt world, is cause for great thanks to be given to God. The mere fact that you know God should cause a stream of thanksgiving to flow from your lips. Left to myself, these verses about rejecting the truth about God would be my spiritual biography. Apart from God’s grace, this would be the story of my life. How humbling it is, that you and I know the Lord. Every one of us should say, “Why me, Lord? Why have I been singled out? Why did you even have me born in America? In a place where the gospel is preached. Why was I not born in North Korea? Why was I not born in China? Why was I not born in Siberia? Why was I not born in the Sudan? Why was I not born someplace where even the name of Christ is not known? Why was I born at the intersection of so many churches? With all these different churches and gospel witnesses flowing like Niagara Falls into my life?” Every one of us should be humbled at how merciful God has been to us that we are not sucked down into lower levels of depravity and ungodliness and unrighteousness. Bear Witness to God Third, we must be actively involved in telling others about the truth of God. We must be bearing witness of the gospel to those who are in need of the saving knowledge of God. This also involves supporting the work of missions through ministries who are taking the gospel to other lands. This involves being willing to go on sort term missions. It involves encouraging those who are actively engaged in doing what they can to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. This requires us to do all that we can to be involved in reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. © 2019 Steven J. Lawson

Divine Wrath – Romans 1:18

OnePassion Ministries February 8, 2017

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For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). This sobering announcement of divine wrath stands in stark contrast with all that has proceeded to this point. In the previous verses, the apostle Paul has made known the gospel of Jesus Christ. But now, he abruptly transitions to the truth of the divine anger upon unrepentant sinners with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Having laid out the good news, Paul now gives the bad news. Here begins the case made for the need for the gospel. Here, Paul begins the first major section in the book of Romans. This verse serves as the topic sentence over the entire first section that begins in Romans 1:18 and will extend to Romans 3:20. The central theme of this section in one word is ‘condemnation.’ Paul will make his case, like a prosecuting attorney, and bring the indictment of God against every member of the human race who are outside of faith in Jesus Christ. This starts a monumental portion of Romans that speaks to the total depravity of every unconverted person in the history of the world. Further, it presents the wrath of God abiding upon all unbelievers. As Paul makes this argument, the purpose is to show why everyone desperately needs to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this opening section, Paul goes for the jugular vein with his case. He does not say you need the gospel because you have been leading an unsuccessful life. He does not reveal that you need the gospel because you have been lonely. He does not say you need the gospel so that you can find the right spouse. He does not say you need the gospel because you are feeling insecure. Paul abruptly states that you need the gospel because you are under the wrath of Almighty God and are headed to hell. I. The Reality of Divine Wrath (1:18a) The word “wrath” (orge) is a Greek word in which you can almost hear the English word orgy that is closely related to it. An orgy is a place of gross sexual licentiousness in which there are heated passions by the participants. The immoral people are worked up into a fever pitch with a mindless rage of lust. That is the use of orge in the most negative sense. But there is also a positive use of orge that is experienced by God. Anything involving God is holy, pure, and morally perfect. So it is with His wrath for which there needs be no apology. Divine wrath is a necessary part of His perfect holiness. If there is no wrath, there is no holiness. The word ‘wrath’ describes the heated passions of God that are enflamed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. God is not indifferent toward sin or sinners. He is not a stoic Sovereign. He is not a mechanical Maker of heaven and earth. He is not a robotic Ruler who is devoid of feelings against sin. He is not passively observing what is happening upon planet earth. Instead, there is a righteous indignation that rises within Him against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. If this were not so, God would not be God. If this were not so, God would topple from His throne of holiness. When Paul says, “for the wrath of God,” he means the wrath that comes down from heaven, from God Himself. In the book of Romans, Paul will talk about the wrath of God in a twofold manner. One, the apostle will talk about the future aspect of divine wrath in eternity. Two, he will address His present wrath within time. A couple of verses speak to future wrath, the reality of eternal wrath in hell. Paul writes, “Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5) This states that every sin that an unbeliever commits is storing up increasing measures of wrath from God that will be unleashed on the last day. The more people suppress the truth about God, the greater will be God’s wrath. Sinners with an Angry God In his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards likened the wrath of God to a rising river that is flowing down from the throne of God in heaven upon sinners. At this moment, this river of divine wrath is being dammed up and held back by the mercy of God. God is giving opportunity to sinners to repent of their sins, to turn from their stubbornness and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. At this present time, the dam of divine mercy is holding back the surging, rising river of divine wrath. This river is ever building and always increasing, and the growing pressure upon the dam is rising exponentially. When this dam of mercy is withdrawn, an overwhelming tsunami of fierce wrath will be unleashed upon the sinner. Unconverted souls will be swept into the bowels of hell and will be submerged under the depths of divine wrath throughout all eternity. Before this future wrath, there is present wrath, as a prelude of this final wrath. That is the meaning in this passage in verse 18. Paul is declaring there is a present wrath that God has toward all that is contrary to His own holiness. This pronouncement of the smoldering wrath of God is not the superficial message that we hear from many today, that says “Smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Instead, this pronouncement of divine wrath is being revealed at this moment toward sinners. This is the sheer, unvarnished, unadulterated truth of God Himself. II. The Revelation of Divine Wrath (1:18b) We must notice that Paul uses the present tense when he writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed” (verse 18, emphasis mine). He does not say that the wrath of God will be revealed in the future. That would mean that a person could afford to procrastinate believing the gospel until later. By this presupposition, the wrath of God will not be revealed until some time in the future. But to the contrary, there is a present revelation of wrath, which makes the gospel message so urgent. That is why every unconverted person desperately needs to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ now, without delay. Given what follows later in this chapter, this present revelation of wrath must be understood within this context. This present wrath can be called abandonment wrath. It is when men repeatedly reject God, He will come to the place, known only to Him, when He will abandon them and turn them over to their own ways. A person can reject God to the point that God rejects them. At that point in time, God will turn a person over to their own devices. This will only further separate them from Him. When that occurs, they have hit the point of no return and can never come back to God. Only by an extraordinary act of divine mercy, can they be brought back to Himself. This divine abandonment, announced as the present wrath of God in verse 18, is found in Romans 1:24, 26, and 28. Paul states, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (verse 24). Again, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural” (verse 26). This is the gross sin of lesbianism. “In the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another” (verse 27). This is homosexuality. Then, “Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (verse 28). This wrath is their present rejection by God. “They did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over” (1:28). This is the third time Paul says that God gave them over. It is the slippery slope that leads yet further away from God. By their repeated rejection of God, they are descending deeper and deeper into an ocean of sin. It starts out with immorality, but then it turns into the grossest of all immoralities, lesbianism and homosexuality. But the depravity does not end there. There is a basement even lower than that. Paul asserts, “God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things that are not proper” (verse 28). In verses 29-31, he spells out that this final stage of present abandonment wrath results in the reprobate mind that can no longer rationally think. Tragically, they can no longer differentiate between right and wrong. Their conscience is neutered. This present abandonment by God is a manifestation of His wrath. This is the scariest reality that can ever happen, whether it be to a person, culture, society, denomination, seminary, ministry, or movement. It comes like a deadly plague because they reject God. They reject the inspiration of the Scripture. They refuse the virgin birth. They renounce the substitutionary death of Christ. They ridicule the bodily resurrection. They redefine eternal hell. When this occurs, God gives them over to ungodly leaders, even to homosexual ministers. But it will become worse. Such God-rejectors will make a series of decisions that will take them further away from the truth. They still drift further and further away from God. Blindly, they think they are serving God. But they are like a dead fish, floating downstream, who do not know that they are cascading into judgment. In this present hour, this is where a major portion of America is. Many people are making insane decisions that go against what is right. We think, “How in the world could anyone possibly have come up with that position?” This passage in Romans explains how such moral insanity occurs. It is God turning a people over to their own iniquities. When God gives a person over to their sins, they continue making insane decisions that take them further away from any hope in God. III. The Reasons for Divine Wrath (1:18c) The apostle Paul explains why this wrath is revealed. He declares that God’s wrath is “against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men” (verse 18). Paul does not talk about divine wrath against felt needs, because such superficial needs are not anyone’s real needs. One’s real needs lie much deeper within their soul. The real needs that a person has are to escape the wrath of Almighty God that will come against every unbeliever outside of Jesus Christ. This verse clearly declares that God is angry with sinners every day. This very moment, God is rightly full of heated vengeance with boiling fury against “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Without any hesitation, Paul speaks directly to this present threat of the wrath of God toward sinners. There is no fine print in what he writes in the book of Romans. There is no withholding this sobering truth until the end of this epistle. There is no tickling their ears and telling them first what they want to hear. Paul is a straight shooter, and he cuts to the chase on this. He says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” When he adds “from heaven,” it is represented as descending down from God above with strong force. This wrath is plummeting down from His omnipotent fury with devastating power. It is coming down with infinite force upon this sinful and rebellious world. Notice that Paul does not say that the wrath of God is revealed against merely some ungodliness. Nor that it is shown against most ungodliness. Neither is it represented against some of ungodliness. Rather, this text says it is revealed against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness of men. An intentional distinction is made by Paul between “ungodliness” and “unrighteousness.” The apostle is not being redundant with his words. Further, the order of these two words is very important. Words always mean something to Paul. As this brilliant intellect writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he addresses God’s holy hatred against “ungodliness” before he moves to “unrighteousness.” “Ungodliness” is man’s perennial unbelief that is directed towards God and His gospel. “Unrighteousness” is his resulting rebellion directed towards man. “Ungodliness” is vertical, while “unrighteousness” is horizontal. “Ungodliness” Toward God “Ungodliness” literally means ‘what is irreverent.’ It is irreverence in the hearts of unbelievers towards God and His kingdom. This is where the decline begins, with one’s drifting relationship away from God. Here, it starts with one’s resistance toward Him. You tell me what your relationship with God is, I will tell you everything else about your life. A.W. Tozer said, “The most important thing that will ever enter your mind is what comes to your mind when you think of God.” What a person thinks about God is the lead domino that effects everything else. The direction of any person’s life is a consequence of who they believe God is and what they do with this divine knowledge. Any person’s knowledge of God will chart the course for every step of their life. It will impact the decisions they make, how they live their life, their motives, their ambitions, and their priorities. This is the trigger point for everything in life. This includes who they marry, where they work, how they work, how they raise their kids, and how they face adversity. Their relationship with God is that all-determinative for time and eternity. When Paul says “ungodliness” (asebeia), he means ‘irreverence towards God.’ This manner of life includes idolatry and impiety, any failure to take God seriously. It describes any failure to commit one’s life to God, which is any failure to live for the glory of God. All these are aspects of irreverence. Paul will open this up in verses 19-21, and this idolatry becomes the lead sin of humanity’s rebellion against God. It becomes the chief sin from which all other sins come. Paul explains, “Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them” (verse 19). In verse 20, Paul writes that God has made Himself known to all people. He continues, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (verse 21). All this is an expanded explanation of this word ‘ungodliness.’ No Fear of God At the end of this section, we find Paul’s indictment of the entire human race, against both Jews and Gentiles, both those nonreligious and religious, both pagans and those in Judaism. The apostle summarizes this ungodliness when he says, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18). What is so striking today is that many churches want to make an unbeliever feel as comfortable in their sins as they possibly can. They remove everything that would cause any fear of God. They stroke their pampered egos and tell them how great they are. All this affirmation negates any fear of God. Despite this flawed approach, the fear of God remains the entrance point into authentic Christianity. That is why elsewhere in Hebrew poetry – in Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs – it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The fear of the Lord is the beginning of everything that is godly and right. Any lack of fearing God produces false converts. No one giggles their way into the kingdom of heaven. No one comes skipping into the kingdom of heaven. The only ones who genuinely enter into the kingdom of heaven are those who realize they are under the wrath of God and have the fear of Him alarming them. In response, they come to God with lowly humility and repentant of heart. They come with brokenness and emptiness of Spirit. Entrance into the grace of God is not in response to hearing, “Repeat this prayer. You said those words. So you are in.” To the contrary, there must be the reality of the fear of God within anyone who is to be made right with Him. A deep, reverential awe of God comes from the realization that you are under divine judgment. You must be convicted that you are under the condemnation of God for your sin. You must know that you are foul, wicked, and depraved. That is who you are, and that is what you are without Christ. That is the issue in your life. “Unrighteousness” Toward Men The next word, “unrighteousness,” deals with one’s unlawful conduct in life. It deals with the steps that a person takes in living their life apart from God’s word. It addresses how he conducts himself without God in his life. It speaks of lawlessness and immorality and going one’s own way in doing one’s own thing. It speaks of a life lived in continual breaking the law of God. Paul is not needlessly repeating himself with these two different words “ungodliness” and “unrighteousness.” This two-fold aspect is how the Ten Commandments are easily divided. The first four of the Ten Commandments govern our relationship with God. The last six commandments govern our relationship with man. First God establishes the vertical, then the horizontal. The horizontal begins, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vein. You shall not make any graven images. You shall honor the Lord on the Sabbath” (Exodus 20:3-11). Then comes the horizontal dimension, “You will honor your father and mother. You will not bear false witness. You will not steal” (Exodus 20:12-18). This is what we see here, compact in these very few verses. Paul first addresses our vertical ungodliness, then follows with our horizontal unrighteousness. IV. The reaction of Divine Wrath (1:18d) Paul continues, “who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (verse 18). The word “suppress” (katecho) means ‘to hold back, detain, restrain.’ It indicates a person who is trying to hold something under a strong force. The illustration has been given of a beach ball in a lake, full of air, and you try to push it down under the surface of the water. But the second you let go of it, it comes popping back up. That is the idea here. These unbelievers try to rid themselves of the knowledge of God. They try to hold back the idea of the existence of God. They try to submerge their accountability to God. But they are only suppressing the truth that comes right back up. The truth about God is ever present before them. Paul will tell us in the next verses that God has put the truth of His existence in their conscience (Romans 1:19-20;2:14-15). He has made His existence clearly evident to all men. The fact of creation clearly implies there is a Creator. No one can escape the reality of the existence of God. Whatever mind game someone tries to play to explain away God, they are only suppressing the truth about Him that is plainly evident in creation itself. Paul says that everyone is “without excuse” (verse 20) concerning His existence. No one gets an exemption in their accountability to God, because He has clearly made Himself known to all. The fact of the existence of God – and something of His character – has been made evident to every person. Not everyone knows the way to God, because that is only found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not everyone hears the gospel. But everyone knows that God exists. But tragically, everyone, because of the depravity of their heart, is trying to suppress the truth about His existence. They “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (verse 18). The “truth” refers to the truth about the existence and attributes of God that He has made known about Himself to man. The greater the suppression of the knowledge of God, the greater will be the wrath of God upon that person. This presupposes that there will be more wrath for some than for others. The greatest wrath will be reserved for those who have heard the truth of the gospel, but have rejected it. All this says, if you are going to hell, do so from a remote place where the gospel is not being preached. Do not go to hell from where there is an abundance of gospel witnesses. Hell will be hotter for people who have heard it repeatedly, but blatantly reject it. Such people are playing church, or they keep hopping from one church to the next. They keep flipping through the dial and listening to the next television preachers. But they are never born again. They never come to faith in Christ, because they never come to the end of themselves. They never humble themself before God and repent of their sin. The greatest sin is rejecting the greatest revelation of truth concerning the existence of God Himself. When God is repeatedly refused, that life comes spiraling down into judgment. This rejection of the knowledge of God is far worse than even the sin of immorality. It is far worse than the homosexuality, lesbianism, and the rest of the licentious sins mentioned in this chapter. Paul writes, “But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation” (Romans 2:8) await them. This awaits those who are myopically living for themself. These worship at the shrine of the unholy trinity: me, myself, and I. This is not a tame, moderate wrath of God, but the passionate, heated vengeance. In the Old Testament, the word for “wrath” indicates a heated divine that will be unleashed upon sinners. The exercise of this wrath is not a little push into hell. Once sinners are in hell, they will be made subject to the relentless pounding of the vengeance of God without end. This is not self-inflicted punishment in hell. Nor is it the devil inflicting this wrath. It is the omnipresent God, who is present even in hell, inflicting this unmitigated fury. Sinners in hell will only wish they were separated from God. “The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he?” (Romans 3:5). The answer to this rhetorical question is, no, God is not unrighteous. This wrath is well-deserved. It is not capricious, nor is it undeserved. It is entirely just and equitable. It is necessary. In Romans 9:22, we read, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” This is the infliction of the unmitigated wrath of the final judgment that pronounces the eternal torment of the damned in hell. V. The Rescue from Divine Wrath (1:18a) There is one more truth I want to show you here. The first word is “For” (verse 18). That word (gar) introduces a reason or explanation for what preceded. This is also how verses 16, 17, 20, and 21 begin, with the word “For.” This indicates an ongoing sequence of explanations. Paul is a logical thinker, who is linear in his reasoning. He thinks in a straight line, from one to two, to three, to four. He coherently reasons from A to B, from B to C, from C to D. Great teachers are not circular in their rationale, but are linear, like a laser beam. Their mind works in a straight line that is easy to follow. They think with consecutive thoughts, not launching off into the wild blue, chasing every stray thought. Paul is such a linear thinker, who stays on a subject. In verse 16, Paul begins, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” This “for” explains why he is so eager to preach the gospel in the previous verse, when he wrote, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you in Rome” (verse 15). Why is Paul so eager? The answer is, because the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (verse 16). That is why Paul was so eager, because the gospel that he will preach will explode in hearts and turn them away from sin and idolatry. The gospel is that explosively powerful. We then ask the question: Why is the gospel so powerful? Here is the answer in verse 17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.” The gospel is so powerful that it can take unrighteous sinners and transform them into righteous saints. Why is the gospel so necessary? Paul answers, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” The gospel would not be necessary if it was not for what he writes in this verse. This is why we must believe the gospel. It is why we must preach the gospel, and why we must bear witness of the gospel. The reason is, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men.” He will further unpack the necessity of the gospel in verses 20, 21, 25, and 26. These verses all begin with the explanatory word “For.” In this section, Paul is giving his explanation why the gospel is so desperately needed by every person. Even if a person never hears the gospel, when they die, they do so under the wrath of God. They go to hell and suffer for the countless sins that they have committed throughout their entire life. That is why Paul will write later, “Blessed are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good news… Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word Christ” (Romans 10:14). We must take the word of God to everyone, because whether you have heard it yet or not, they are already under the wrath of God with no way of escape apart from the gospel. This wrath of God is the necessary reaction of the holiness of God against all that is unholy. A holy God hates all sin and must punish it. A holy God must damn sinners, or He, the moral Judge of the universe, is indicted with the same crime. God must punish all sin wherever it is found. All Are Under Sin This is why Paul was so committed to the gospel, he was building his case for the necessity of the gospel. This is the opening verse of this first section in the epistle, in which Paul builds an insurmountable argument for the universal need for the gospel. Paul will conclude, “We have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). This announces the universal condemnation of the entire human race, “There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God” (verses 10-11). You may say, “What about people in religions in gospel-deprived places. The people are so sincere in their alternate religions. Are they not seeking God?” The answer is the total opposite. They are running away from the one true God. They have invented their own gods, because they do not want to deal with that which is made known to them about the true God. They are not running to God, but away from Him. There is none who seeks for God, not one. Paul indicts the entire human race, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (verse 12). He proceeds to describe their total depravity, “Their throat is an open grave” (verse 13a). In other words, only lies come out of their mouth. “With their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known” (verses 13-17). The climax is reached, which reads, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (verse 18). You say, “Who is he talking about?” Paul is describing everyone outside of Christ. This is his diagnosis of the human race. He concludes, “So that every mouth maybe closed, and all the world may become accountable to God” (verse 19). That is a sobering truth, but it is nevertheless reality of his life before God. Saved From the Wrath of God This is why the gospel is so precious and necessary. Paul will explain, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:9). Salvation is not rescuing the sinner from a meaningless existence. It is not delivering him from a bad job. It is not saving him from having personal insecurities. It is not saving him from being unhappy with himself. It is saving him from God, and there is only One who can save from God, and that is God Himself. Salvation is God’s grace saving us from His wrath. This great salvation is accomplished through the life and death of His Son, Jesus Christ, offered to sinners without cost. This deliverance from divine wrath takes place in large measure in one word, “propitiation.” Paul writes, “Whom God displayed publicly,” talking about Christ, “as a propitiation in His blood” (Romans 3:25). The word “propitiation” means ‘appeasement or satisfaction.’ The death of Christ satisfied the wrath of God toward sinners who believe in Him. He took this wrath to Himself upon the cross. When Christ bore our sins in His body, He suffered the wrath of God upon our sins. As a result, there is not one drop of wrath left for those who put their faith in Christ. That is why Paul says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). There is no divine wrath left for us because Christ has taken it to Himself. A Final Word What is the “So what” of all these verses? The personal impact of of this should be to produce humility, thankfulness, and praise to God in our hearts for what God has done for us in His Son Jesus Christ. Proper Perspective This rescue from eternal wrath should put all our temporal problems in proper perspective. In comparison to this divine wrath, you do not have a problem of any lasting significance in your life. You may have a few issues, but your supreme problem has been resolved. This is the enormous issue in your life. It is for you to be made right with God, and for you to escape the wrath of God that will be unleashed upon sinners. If you have committed your life to Christ, the biggest issue of your life has been taken care of. I do not mean to minimize whatever other issues are going on. I realize that life’s struggles can become big and, seemingly, swallow us. But in comparison to these temporal trials, the fact that believers have escaped the wrath of God causes everything else to be seen with right perspective. Proper Diagnosis Do you know what is wrong with the world? Do you know what is wrong with America? Do you know what is wrong with the Democrats? Do you know what is wrong with the Republicans? Do you know what is wrong with everybody? It is their defiant rejection of God. If you reject God, you will be turned over to go your own way. Sin makes you stupid. Sin leads you to make the worst decisions you could ever possibly make with your life. There is only one cure for your sin. There is only one way to sort out what is going on in this world. Ultimately, there is only one cure, and it is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nobody wants to talk about wrath these days. Everyone wants to pretend like it is not there. Everyone wants to read and study other parts of the Bible. But Paul begins his case for Christianity right here, that all people are under the wrath of God. There is only one means of escape, and that is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, I have to ask you: Have you committed your life to Christ? Have you believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ? I cannot end this lesson without calling you for the verdict. Where are you with this? Going to church does not save you. You are going to need to go to church, if it is a good church. But you do not go to heaven because you go to church. You are not right with God because you come to a Bible study. You are only made right with God if you have repented of your sins and committed your life to Jesus Christ. If you have never made this commitment, I plead with you to do so now, before it is too late.

From Faith to Faith – Romans 1:17

OnePassion Ministries February 2, 2017

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For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith’ (Romans 1:17). This is the key verse for the entire book of Romans. To understand this verse is to understand the book of Romans. It is the highest mountain peak in this epistle, the loftiest summit, and finds itself at the end of the opening prologue, Romans 1:1-17. Everything thus far has been building up to this verse. We now find ourselves standing at the top of this towering pinnacle of truth. This was the explosive text that ignited the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago. This was the dynamic verse that God used to convert an Augustinian monk, a professor of Bible at the University of Wittenberg, whose name was Martin Luther. In response to the sale of indulgences throughout the region of Saxony in Germany, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the front door of the church in Wittenberg. The date was October 31, 1517. This public act was a protest against the trafficking of indulgences that were sold for the forgiveness of sins on behalf of deceased loved ones who were perceived to be in Purgatory. The posting of Luther’s theses was a call for a public debate regarding how a man could be right before God. At that time. Luther was unconverted. But he, nevertheless, knew that this practice was grossly wrong. Two years later, in 1519, Luther, at last, was converted to Jesus Christ while in the tower of the Castle Church, meditating on this very verse, Romans 1:17. He had mistakenly assumed that meeting the perfect standard of the righteousness of God was what He required of him. He knew he could not meet that standard or moral perfection, and grew angry with God. In fact, he confided that he hated God. In his mind, God had set a mark of required righteousness so high that he could never meet it. The impossible standard that God set is absolute sinlessness. God does not grade on the curve or lower the bar to come down to fallen man’s level. So, he can never get over the bar of God’s own holiness. Luther understood that, and pushed himself to the breaking point by fasting and praying. He would punish his own body in order to find acceptance with Him. He was trying by His own self-righteousness to achieve a right standing before God. Luther even slept outside in the freezing cold without a blanket in order to pummel his own body. Surely, this self-flagellation would commend himself to God. But in all of these efforts, he was growing further and further away from God. He realized that there was nothing he could do to gain acceptance with holy God, who required sinless perfection. Luther was well taught in the Bible’s original languages, especially in the Greek language. As he was meditating on Romans 1:17, searching for acceptance with God, it was like a ray of light suddenly flashed into his darkened soul. In a moment, he saw the truth that had been previously veiled from his eyes. He discerned that this righteousness of God is not what God requires, but what comes from God. “The righteousness of God” is the free gift of God to those who believe in Jesus Christ. What God requires, He gives without cost or merit in the gospel. Righteousness from God This word “righteousness” (diakaiosune) means a perfect conformity to a standard. It is used thirty-five times in Romans, and it means to have right standing before God. In the divine act of justification, the believing sinner is declared to be righteous before a holy God in heaven. That is not something that we can earn or deserve. It is something that comes down from above, from God Himself, that He gives freely without cost. In the gospel, God provides His own righteousness in Jesus Christ that every person desperately needs to find acceptance with Him. If we do not have the righteousness of God, we are not right with Him and are under His just condemnation. The next verse asserts the need for the perfect righteousness of God, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18). This all-inclusive statement includes every person who is outside of Jesus Christ. This wrath of God is His unmitigated, holy vengeance against unholy sinners. It is the smoldering fury of God against sinners. It is the ignited anger of God by which He justly condemns and damns sinners forever in the eternal punishment in a real place called hell. Rightly so, because God is a holy God. As Luther meditated on this text, Romans 1:17, he, at last, understood the gospel. In that moment, he said, “It was as if the gates of paradise were swung open to me, and I was born again.” This is what it is to be a genuine Christian. Suddenly, Luther was birthed from above, and he entered into the kingdom of God. Immediately, this German professor was justified by God and credited with His righteousness in Christ. The same must be experienced by all who would be made right with God. The only way to receive the righteousness of God that has been secured for us is through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It was by the sinless life and substitutionary death of Christ that this perfect righteousness was secured. He completely obeyed the law of God in our place, and He died upon the cross for our sins in our place. Those two aspects come together to achieve this perfect righteousness. By His sinless life and substitutionary death, Christ secured this righteousness on our behalf. How Righteousness is Received How is this divine righteousness received? The Giver of righteousness sets the terms. We see that this righteousness of God is received by faith alone, apart from any works. It is not faith and works that saves, but by faith alone. Paul begins verse 17 with the word “for,” which introduces an explanation for what he wrote in verse 16, which stated, “It is the power of God for salvation.” Verse 17 is the explanation for why the gospel is “the power of God for salvation.” Paul continues, “For in it,” referring to the gospel. By this saving message, “the righteousness of God is revealed.” This word, “revealed” (apoklupto), is from what we derive the English word apocalypse, meaning ‘an unveiling.’ Something that was hidden becomes uncovered. Take, for example, a museum that commissions an artist to construct a statue of a famous person. There would be a public ceremony, and the statue would be placed before the front door of the museum with a canvas draped over it. A gathering of people would assemble and at the proper moment, the canvas would be removed and the statue would unveiled. In that moment, what had been previously concealed would be revealed. This is what this word “revealed” means. It is the unveiling of how sinful man can be made right with holy God. God must reveal this truth, because man could never discover it on his own. No one could ever find it except God take the initiative to disclose it. That is, this manifestation is by God’s initiative. You will note, “reveal” is in the present tense, meaning this gospel is being continually revealed as the word of God is taught and proclaimed. It is the unveiling of this saving message that is being revealed in the book of Romans. In the second half of verse 17, Paul emphasizes the necessity of faith in order to receive the righteousness of God. The apostle writes that the righteousness of God “is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” Three times in this one verse Paul uses the word “faith.” This is a rare verse in which the same word is used three times, and it draws our attention to what Paul is stressing. This righteousness from God is received exclusively by faith. Given this importance, what can we say about faith? We are going to examine this word, “faith.” In doing so, I want to set before you eight headings that will help us better understand what it is. I. The Meaning of Faith (1:17) First, I want us to consider what faith means. The word “faith” (pistis) means ‘a commitment to, a trust in, a reliance upon.’ Those are synonymous statements that describe what true saving faith is. A comprehensive understanding of faith recognizes that it involves the mind, heart, and will. With the mind, a person must know the essential truths of the gospel. He must then be persuaded of its truthfulness in his heart. He must be convicted of his need for the righteousness of God. Finally, he must make the decisive commitment of his life to Jesus Christ with his will. This is the meaning of the faith that saves. A person must entrust all that he is to the Lord Jesus Christ. No one else can make this decision for him. It is a personal commitment that only he can make. His wife cannot make it for him. His parents cannot make it for him. His children cannot make it for him. This is the commitment that everyone must make. Such a step of faith occurs at a fixed point in time. This is the defining moment when one enters through the narrow gate. One moment, he is outside the kingdom, and the next moment he is on the inside. By faith alone, he comes to Jesus Christ and receives His righteousness. Faith is the eye that looks to Christ, the feet that run to Him, the hand that grasps Him, and the mouth that devours Him. True faith does not sit still in one’s sin. Faith does not sit back passively. Faith does not simply think about Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. Faith does not merely have warm religious feelings about Christ. True faith actively goes to Christ and embraces Him. It looks to Him and receives Him. II. The Object of Faith (1:2-5) Second, earlier in this prologue, Paul stated the object of faith. Faith by itself is impotent to save. Faith is no more powerful that the object of its trust. It is the object of faith that saves, which is stated in Romans 1:2-4. Faith in what is written in the Holy Scriptures must be exercised (verse 2), specifically, what it testifies concerning Jesus Christ (verses 3-4). The Bible teaches that He is the eternal Son of the living God, who was born or a woman and became the Son of David. He was the God-man, truly God and truly Man. The whole Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is the only Savior of the world. Any faith that we place in ourselves does not save. Faith in a church cannot give a right standing before God. Faith in a religious ritual or moral activity is a misplaced faith. We must exercise faith exclusively in the person of Jesus Christ. Any faith in anything or anyone else leaves a person under the wrath of God. Even faith that is in faith is not true faith. Faith must be placed in Jesus Christ as He is presented in the word of God. Jesus Christ must be the sole object of saving faith. III. The Evidence of Faith (1:5) Third, Paul describes the evidence of faith in verse five of the opening prologue. Paul describes the necessity of “the obedience of faith.” This means ‘the obedience that comes from faith.’ In other words, genuine faith always produces obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Simply put, obedience flows from true faith. Conversely, disobedience is the result of unbelief. The Bible asserts elsewhere that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). That is, an inactive faith is not real faith. Faith without works is mere empty profession. Genuine faith is an obedient faith. The one who truly believes in Jesus Christ comes under the authority of His lordship and walks in obedience to His word. As soon as he comes through the narrow gate, he is under a new authority that is stated in the written word of God. An ongoing lifestyle of obedience to the Lord Jesus is not something that begins five years after conversion. It is not something that starts ten years later. To the contrary, this obedience starts at the outset of the Christian life. The moment anyone takes the step of saving faith and enters through the narrow gate into the kingdom, he is immediately in submission to the higher authority of the word of God. We must understand that the gospel is more than a free offer. It is more than an invitation. The reality is that the gospel is an imperative command in which we are divinely-ordered to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Either we are obedient to the gospel, and we repent and believe. Or we are disobedient and refuse to obey this demand. Whenever we hear the gospel, it makes a demand upon us. In that moment, we must make the choice to be obedient to the command of the gospel. Faith obeys God and believes upon His Son, Jesus Christ. This initial step of obedience to the gospel continues throughout the entirety of our Christian life. It does not involve merely the first step of obedience. Saving faith leads to many steps of obedience for the rest of a person’s life. Does a true believer ever disobey God? Of course! But when he disobeys, he confesses it and repents. He then continues on the journey of the obedience of faith. IV. The Source of Faith (1:6) Fourth, where does faith come from? Faith does not originate within the one who believes. Before conversion, the sinner was spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. By way of this analogy, dead men cannot exercise faith. In order to believe, God must resurrect one who is dead. In that moment, God must give the gift of faith and enable the sinner to believe. Saving faith comes from God, the Creator and Giver of faith. Faith does not originate within man, but comes down from God. I will never forget the day I was in seminary, when we were studying the preaching of the great evangelist George Whitefield. The professor asked this simple question, “What can a dead man do?” No one answered, and the silence was deafening. Finally, a fellow student on the back row said out loud, “Stink.” With that one question, my entire understanding of salvation was disarmed and came crashing down. It was like one rock thrown into a glass window that shatters the whole plate of glass. In that pivotal moment, I saw that there is nothing that a spiritually dead sinner can do. Dead men cannot come to Christ. Dead men cannot believe. Dead men can only stink. In reality, dead men can only run away from Christ. God must first give the gift of faith before anyone can believe the gospel. In verse 6, Paul identifies those who believe as “the called of Jesus Christ.” This designation refers to the effectual call of Christ that summons and apprehends the one called. In reality, this call is a divine subpoena that arrests the one called and brings him to faith in Christ. When Jesus effectually calls, He overcomes all human resistance. When Jesus stood before Lazarus’ grave and called, “Lazarus, come forth,” Lazarus was raised from the dead and came to Christ. His call is so powerful that it raises the dead. In the day that Jesus calls, we come to faith in Him. When Jesus calls, He grants the gift of repentance and saving faith. The sinner is enabled to repent and believe. To exercise faith in the gospel is all of grace, the direct result of God working in the one called. Paul writes, “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36). Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is from God. The source of faith is God Himself. V. The Priority of Faith (1:8) Fifth, the priority of faith is also evident in the opening prologue of Romans. Paul writes, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (verse 8). Here, Paul establishes the priority of faith as he, first and foremost, commends the believers in Rome for their faith. This was number one on his list. In other epistles, he will focus upon faith, hope, and love. That triad of Christian virtues is often mentioned as the priority in the Christian life. But the letter to the Romans is such a gospel-centered book that he mentions only faith. This is because it is the dominant theme running through this opening prologue. For that matter, faith is prioritized throughout the rest of the letter to the Romans. Their faith in Jesus Christ is what was being proclaimed throughout the known world. While living in the most immoral, pagan, wicked, foul city, these believers stood out like sparkling diamonds in a dark coalmine. Their faith was shining brilliantly in this dark place. Their faith in Christ prevented them from being squeezed into the mold of the evil world system. They are not trying to imitate the godless culture. They were not blending in with the environment around them. Instead, their strong faith caused them to live in a distinctively Christian manner. Their faith was contagious and spreading throughout the Roman Empire. The importance of faith is stressed in Hebrews 11:6, which says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” In simplest terms, faith diligently seeks after God and lives for His reward. There must be this priority of faith in our lives. There must be an aspect of our lives that cannot be explained apart from our faith in God. It should cause us to be inexplicable to those who observe us. It cannot be explained by our intelligence, natural gifts, or abilities. There should be no explanation for our lives apart from our faith in God. VI. The Power of Faith (1:12) Sixth, I want you to see the power of faith. The next time faith is mentioned is in verse 12, when Paul says, “that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith.” He wants to have fellowship with them so that they can encourage each other in the faith. When we come together as believers, we encourage each other to trust God even more. Faith is contagious. One person’s faith affects others with whom he comes in contact. True believers strengthen other’s faith. We build up the faith of others by our faith. Conversely, when our faith is not strong, we can have an adverse effect upon other believers. But when I am living strong in faith, when I am sold out to Christ, when I am pressing on to live for God, that kind of commitment has a positive effect with others who are around me. I need your faith to be strong so you can strengthen me. You need my faith to be strong so that I can strengthen you. The Bible says, ‘Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). The picture is two swords rubbing against each other, sharpening the cutting edge of their blades. This is what Paul desired in his anticipated trip to Rome. He wanted their faith to rub off on him and vice versa. Even the apostle Paul needed the faith of the Romans to strengthen him.  We all need other believers to stoke the flames of our heart in our mutual fellowship with one another. This is the power of faith as it impacts other believers. VII. The Necessity of Faith (1:16) Seventh, Paul also addresses the necessity of faith. The next time we see the same root word for faith is verse 16. It is the word “believes” (pisteuo), which is the verb form of the noun, “faith” (pistis), found in verse 17. So, believe and faith come from the same Greek word. Paul writes, “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” (verse 16). The necessity of faith is found in that no one can receive the salvation of God, except by faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to have divine righteousness except by faith. Salvation cannot be received by faith and anything else. The hymn by Augustus Toplay rightly says, “In my hands no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” Faith brings nothing in its hand. Only with the empty hand of faith can we receive the gift of righteousness. We must believe in Jesus Christ to be right with God. Otherwise, we are doomed to perish eternally. There is no other way to find acceptance with God except through faith in Christ. This begs the question, “Have you believed in Jesus Christ? Have you committed your life to Christ?” It is entirely possible to have this truth in your head and even have warm feelings in your heart, yet not truly believe. In conversion, you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, like a bride committing herself to her groom in a wedding ceremony. You commit your life to the only Savior of sinners. You must take the decisive step of faith, as an act of your will, and entrust your soul to Jesus Christ. VIII. The Perseverance of Faith (1:17) Eighth, we note the perseverance of faith, when Paul writes, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (verse 17). There are numerous ways to interpret that statement, “from faith to faith.” Great men have differed on this, but I am convinced that when Paul states, “from faith to faith,” he is saying, “It is faith from start to finish.” In other words, the Christian life is begun by faith. But having entered the kingdom of God, we continue to live by faith. In fact, we will conclude our Christian journey by faith. That is, ‘from faith’ addresses saving faith. Then, when Paul says “to faith,” that is living daily by faith. That is walking by faith moment-by-moment to the end of the Christian life. This truth is important, because faith is not merely repeating a scripted prayer, walking an aisle, raising a hand, and joining the choir, and then assuming that a person is automatically in the kingdom of God. If they fail to move forward and live by faith, that is not the mark of true, saving faith. If such a person goes back to the world system and lives in sin the same way they previously did, that is not the mark of true, saving faith. If such a person goes that is not a true faith in Jesus Christ. True faith perseveres. That is a false faith of self-deception. True conversion begins with genuine faith, and it continues day by day in a walk of faith, a life of faith. “Live By Faith” The second reason that I am convinced that this is the proper interpretation is at the end of verse 17, when Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous man shall LIVE by faith.” This “righteous man” is justified by faith in Christ. That is rightly assumed from verse 16 and the beginning of verse 17. But here, the prophet states that the onw ho is declared righteous by faith will also live by faith. When Paul says “the righteous man,” he is referring to the man who has been declared righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. He is right before God under the law, because of Christ and what He has done for him. But he not only stands by faith. He now lives by faith. This is the daily reality of a new life with a new direction. True faith involves not just the initial step of commitment to Jesus Christ. Saving faith also includes living by faith throughout the entirety of one’s life. A justified believer lives by faith regardless of the temptations and persecution he will face. He lives by faith in this lifelong journey of following Christ. This is the perseverance of faith that never stops trusting in Him. Faith that Perseveres Saving faith is the gift of God. When God gives this divine enablement to believe in Jesus Christ, it is a steadfast faith that will never stop believing. It may weaken at times and surely will. It may slow down at times, but it will never cease believing. A true believer will never become an apostate unbeliever. A God-given faith in Jesus Christ never becomes unbelief. Such is theologically impossible. Jesus is both “the author and perfector of faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The faith that He authors, He matures and perfects to the end. Paul writes that true faith is always “from faith to faith” (verse 17). That is, it is impossible for faith to go from faith to no faith. Faith can only move forward. Faith can only advance from faith to faith. It is impossible to go from faith to apostasy. It is impossible to go from faith to unfaith. True faith can only go in one direction, because it s a powerful work of God in the soul. Faith is exercised in us, but it is what God does in us. “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Saving faith that God authors (Philippians 1:29) can only move forward from faith to faith. Charles Spurgeon once quipped, “Noah fell down many times in the ark, but he never once fell out of the ark.” That is true of genuine faith. We will trip and fall down in the Christian life. But we will never fall away from Christ. It is not a matter of our holding onto God. It is a matter of Him holding onto us. God keeps our faith active and upheld by His grace. When my sons were young, we would cross the street. Though they would pull away from my hand, I never let go of their hand. We would step off the curb together, but if they tripeed, I will still have them in my grip. They would be swinging in mid-air, because I would never let go of them, even if they let go of me. That is the way it is in genuine, true salvation. God gives us a faith that goes from faith to faith. Even when we weaken, God will never let go of us. As we can see, this major theme of faith runs throughout this entire opening prologue. The importance of faith is clear. We cannot be saved apart from faith. We cannot be sanctified apart from faith. We cannot be what God desires you to be without faith. We cannot experience the abundant life that Christ has come to give you apart from faith. Faith is the fountain from which your daily life of active faith flows, as we live “from faith to faith.” Every area of our Christian life is to be lived by faith. This refers to not just our church lives, but to our business lives, our family lives, and our recreational lives. Every component part of our lives is to be lived by faith. We are not meant to be self-reliant. None of our lives should be lived in self-dependence. We should always be anchored to God in every aspect of our lives. We need God, not just to go to heaven, but to go to work. We need God, not only for our relationship with Him, but in all of our relationships upon the earth. Every aspect of our lives is to be lived by faith.

The Righteousness of God – Romans 1:17

OnePassion Ministries January 26, 2017

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For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). This verse contains the central theme for the entire book of Romans. It is the signature text for this epistle that has been called the most important book in the Bible. Some even call Romans the most important book in the world of literature. Here is the interpretative key that unlocks the letter to the Romans and contains the very heart of the gospel. To understand this one verse is to understand the unfolding argument of Romans. Here in this single verse is the small acorn from which the entire forest of the book of Romans grows. Everything in this divinely-inspired letter proceeds from this one text. The dominant message of the opening prologue of Romans is the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1-17). Everything that Paul has stated in these initial seventeen verses has been climbing to this lofty mountain peak in verse 17. In this lesson, our focus will be upon the first half of this critical text, “For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed.” To understand these first nine words is to understand the essence of the gospel itself. This assertion explains the perfect righteousness of God that comes from God Himself in the gospel to those who have no righteousness of their own. Everything in Romans revolves around this important theological word, “righteousness.” If we are to comprehend the book of Romans, we must have a strategic grasp of what this word means. What Does Righteousness mean? The word “righteousness” (dikaiosune) means ‘equity, justice, integrity.’ The idea presented is ‘conformity to a standard.’ Righteousness means to give to each man his due based upon his conformity or lack of conformity to the divine standard of perfect holiness. Conformity to the holy character of God in His word brings blessing. A failure to conform to the divine standard brings cursing. Any falling short of this standard of moral perfection brings the full curse of God upon the offender. This reveals how holy God is and how serious any breach of His Law is. By way of historical background, the concept of “righteousness” is drawn from the ancient marketplace at this time. A woman would go into the marketplace and approach a merchant in order to purchase a measure of grain. He would pour onto one side of the scales a measure of grain. He would then take a corresponding metal weight and place it on the other side of the scale. This weight became the standard by which an equivalent amount of grain would be measured. If the merchant saw that the grain weighed less than the standard, he would pour more grain onto the scales until the scales were balanced. Then the two sides of the scales were “righteous,” meaning both sides were in perfect conformity to each other. Weighed in the Balances That is how the word “righteousness” was used by the apostle Paul in explaining the gospel. He is teaching that the perfect standard by which God measures our lives is His absolute holiness. The requirement to be righteous in the sight of God and acceptable in His sight is that we stand in perfect conformity to the morally pure holiness of God. Divine holiness means that He is morally perfect and personally flawless in His being, words, actions, and judgments. Measured by this standard of perfection, we have all been weighed in the balances and found wanting. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). “Of God” When Paul writes in Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God,” those two little words, “of God,” make an enormous difference in how we are to understand what is being taught. This means that this righteousness that we desperately need to find acceptance with God comes from God. It is God’s own righteousness that He provides in the gospel. In this context, the word “of” indicates the source of this righteousness. This means that this righteousness comes from God and is provided for sinful mankind who are without any righteousness of their own. Everyone in the human race must be clothed by God’s own righteousness in order to be received into God’s holy presence with acceptance. Our righteousness is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). But God provides the righteousness that we need to be right with Him in the gospel. An Imbalance on the Scale When we are judged by God, some people have the mistaken idea that in order to be right with Him, they only have to be relatively close to meeting His standard of perfect holiness. They wrongly presume that God will grade them on a moral curve. They are convinced that if they are better than most other people, they will surely gain acceptance with God. But such thinking falsely presumes that the standard by which we will be measured is the vague average morality of the human race. But we will not be weighed against those with whom we live or work. Instead, we will be measured in the divine scales against the perfect holiness of God. When weighed in the balances against this impeccable standard, we discover that we have all sinned and fallen woefully short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Likewise, blessings and curses are assigned when we are measured by God. Blessings are pronounced upon those who are in perfect conformity to the holiness of God. This blessing is the salvation that God bestows upon those who perfectly meet His requirement. But tragically, none can meet the mark. Conversely, a punitive punishment is assigned for any failure by man to be in perfect conformity to the holiness of God. The ultimate curse of breaking the Law is the second death. This is the eternal punishment of hell. The whole book of Romans revolves around this highly significant word “righteousness.” In this lesson, we will survey the entire epistle and discover how each section of the book relates to this one word, “righteousness.” I. Condemnation: Righteousness Required (1:18-3:20) In the first major section of Romans, Paul presents his case for the condemnation of the entire human race. Here is Paul’s prosecuting indictment against all mankind. He states that all people lack the perfect righteousness required in order to have a right standing before God. All mankind is marred by ungodliness and unrighteousness (1:18). This includes all people, including moralistic Jews, who have failed to meet the standard of God’s own glory (2:1-3:8). Paul states that every person has been found wanting when weighed against the flawless holiness of God (3:9-18). The argument concludes where it began, with all mankind under the wrath of God (3:19-20). The holy vengeance of God must react against all that is unholy. Otherwise, His divine wrath is the infliction of His just punishment upon all that does not conform to His own character. This results in the just condemnation of the entire sinful human race. Every man, woman, and child are guilty of cosmic treason against God. There is no grading on a curve like in a classroom. There can be no sweeping our rebellious sin under the carpet. God cannot look the other way and ignore our offenses. There can be no pretending that it never happened. Every sin will receive a just penalty (Hebrews 2:3-4). The more sin a person commits, the greater the eternal punishment by God will be. Hell will not be the same for everyone. Some places of hell will be hotter than others. Our Filthy Rags God has infallibly recorded all our iniquities in His permanent records. All our sinful attitudes, deceitful words, lustful thoughts, and disobedient deeds have been written down in the divine records. On the last day, these divine books will be opened and our entire lifetime of sins will be made known in the final judgment. Every idle word will be entered as evidence in the divine courtroom. Every sin of commission – what we did, but we should not have done – will be will be presented as evidence. Every sin of omission – what we did not do, but should have done – will be admitted. Even the right things we did, but with a wrong motive, will be submitted. The entire case against every unbeliever will be documented. God has recorded the detailed account of our lives, meticulously written in His books. What you did when you were in junior high school is on the books. What you did when you were in high school has been recorded. What you did when you were in college at the fraternity party is written down. What you did when you were overseas with the military is in your permanent file. What you did when you said something to hurt your little sister. What you said to your father growing up. The entire record – your every thought, every fantasy, every idle word, every slander, every gossip – has been kept by God. These impeccable records will result in the condemnation of the entire human race. This section on the condemnation of the human race is the foundation upon which stands all else that Paul will write. Beginning in Romans 1:18 and extending to Romans 3:20, this is the indisputable case for the ‘righteousness required’ by God. The righteousness demanded by God is unachievable by man. No person, in his own self-righteous efforts, has any righteousness by which he can commend himself to God. All our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). The best we have by which to commend ourselves to God is like unclean menstrual rags in the pure eyes of holy God. The best we have to bring to God is like a woman’s dirty rags, unclean in His pure sight. II. Justification: Righteousness Received(3:21-5:21) The second major section of Romans presents the righteousness of God that is imputed to one who believes in Jesus Christ. This is the doctrine of justification by faith, also known as sole fide, meaning ‘by faith alone.’ This next part of Paul’s argument starts in Romans 3:21 and extends through Romans 5:21. This next section presents the doctrine of justification by faith. When a person commits his life to Jesus Christ, the perfect righteousness that God demands is immediately credited to his account. God deposits to the spiritually bankrupt account the righteousness of Christ. As a judge would declare a person acquitted of all crimes under the law, God declares the believer to have a perfect standing before Him under His moral Law. The words “justified” (dikaioo) and “righteousness” (dikaoisune) come from the same Greek root word. These two theological words come into the English language as completely different sounding words, but they both come from the same root word in the original language. Justification is a courtroom word in which God the Judge declares the guilty defendant to be His righteousness in His sight, because of faith in Christ. This is the truth that Paul develops in Romans 3:21 through Romans 5:21. This righteousness was secured by Jesus Christ in His obedience to the Law. When Jesus came into this world, He was born “under the Law” (Galatians 4:4-5), meaning that He was accountable to obey the Law. Throughout the entirety of His life, Jesus obeyed the Law in the place of law-breaking sinners in two ways, by His active and passive obedience. The Active Obedience of Christ Throughout his life, Jesus perfectly obeyed the holy Law, that which we have repeatedly disobeyed. This is called His active obedience to the Law. It is the lifelong obedience of Christ, which is as important for achieving righteousness as his substitutionary death upon the cross. Not only did Jesus die in our place, He also lived in our place. We are saved not only by His death, but also by His life. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God credits the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account. In this legal act, God declares us to be righteous based upon what Christ secured for us when He lived perfectly under the Law. We need more than the forgiveness of our sins in order to be right with God. The divine pardon of sin only washes away our sin. This only brings us back to a zero status in our standing before God. Spiritual zeros do not enter heaven. Every sinner must have a positive righteousness in order to be accepted before God. This vast fortune of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God does more than merely wipe away our spiritual debt. God also deposits the riches of the righteousness of Jesus Christ in the account of the one who believes in Him. The Passive Obedience of Christ What Luther Discovered The German reformer Martin Luther was converted by reading Romans 1:17, which, in turn, ignited the Protestant Reformation. As Luther pondered this verse, divine light flooded his heart. He suddenly saw that the righteousness God provides through faith in Christ. He put his faith in Jesus Christ and was justified by God. Luther called this righteousness an ‘alien’ or a ‘foreign’ righteousness. He meant that this righteousness came from outside of himself. It comes down from above, from a foreign realm. This righteousness came from God having been secured by Jesus Christ through His sinless life and substitutionary death. It is Christ’s perfect righteousness that is given to the one who believes. No matter how long a person lives, wherever he goes, he will never hear a better pronouncement than this good news in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Luther discovered that he would not be saved by his own self-righteousness. It would not be through his self-righteous efforts that he would be justified. A right standing before God would be realized only when he is credited with the righteousness of God. The sinless life and sin-bearing death of Christ achieved the necessary righteousness. Luther must simply believe in Christ. He believed in Jesus Christ and received from God the righteousness he needed. III. Sanctification: Righteousness Realized (6:1-8:25) In the third major section, Paul expounds the truth that all who are justified will pursue a life of practical righteousness. In Romans 6:1 through chapter 8:17, this next section is about the daily life of the believer who practices a lifestyle of personal righteousness. This truth is known as the doctrine of sanctification, which teaches that believers are being progressively conformed to the holiness of God. All believers who were justified are also being matured and molded into the image of Jesus Christ. Believers are becoming less and less of what they once were. And they are becoming more and more of what Jesus is. Those who are justified are becoming increasingly sanctified. They are thinking more like Jesus and are obeying more like Him. That is the reality of the practical righteousness that accompanies justification. A Lifelong Pursuit Paul will argue in the book of Romans that everyone who is justified by faith will begin the lifelong pursuit of practical righteousness. We can discern who is justified by the evidence of a changed life. We can detect the genuineness of a person’s confession of faith in Christ by their fruit. The reality of sanctification in a person’s life becomes the strongest validation that they are a true Christian. But if there is no evidence of sanctification, it calls into question whether there is the reality of justification. Justification and sanctification are a package deal. These two are inseparably bound together. Crucified, Buried, Raised In Romans 6, Paul teaches that this changed life is produced in every believer because he is united with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Those who put their trust in Jesus are crucified with Him. This breaks the dominant power that sin once had over a person’s life. Further, they are buried with Him, signifying the finality of their death to a life of pursuing sin. Moreover, they are raised with Christ, empowered to live a new life by this same power of the resurrection. In Romans 7, Paul gives instruction that believers still struggle with their flesh. Though sin is no longer the dominant force in their lives, it is still a present reality. In Romans 8, Paul argues that believers may live victoriously by the power of the Holy Spirit. IV. Glorification: Righteousness Reserved(8:26-8:39) In the second half of Romans 8, Paul explains that all who have been justified are held secure forever in Christ. Nothing can ever separate them from the righteousness of God that has been imputed to them. The divine act of justification is irrevocable and irreversible. In this fourth section, the apostle will build an insurmountable argument for the eternal security of the believer. He will state that those whom God foreknew – meaning those who He chose to love beforehand with saving love – He also predestined, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:29-30). This truth is often called God’s unbreakable golden chain of salvation. It asserts that the righteousness of God imputed in justification cannot be annulled. For the one who is justified by God, his place in heaven is as certain this very moment, as if he has already been there 10,000 years. In fact, “glorified” is stated in the present as if it has already occurred in the future. If a person is not justified presently in this life, he will never be justified on the last day. A person must be justified now, or he will never be justified. And one who is presently “justified” is already “glorified” in the mind of God. Every believer is already acquitted of all charges and declared to be righteous throughout all the ages to come. Our case before God has already been settled out of court through our faith in Jesus Christ. God has already predestined that the righteousness of Christ belongs to us, and no one or nothing can take it away from us. No Condemnation, No Separation This is why Paul concludes Romans 8 by declaring, “God is the one who justifies; who is he who condemns?” (Romans 8:33-34). The answer to this rhetorical question is plainly understood to be a resounding ‘no one.’ The righteousness of God imputed to believers can never be invalidated. No one can overrule God’s favorable verdict toward believers. No one can successfully bring a condemning charge against any believer that can reverse the decision of the court of heaven. The apostle concludes, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Here is the most emphatic statement imaginable concerning the eternal security of every believer in their righteous standing before God. V. Predestination: Righteousness Foreordained(9:1-11:36) In Romans 9 through 11, Paul addresses the subject of God’s predestination and His eternal purposes to save a remnant in Israel. After the rejection of Christ by the nation Israel, the question should be raised: Have these promises of God toward His chosen people failed? Is there a future salvation for Israel in the purposes of God? Paul explains that God’s promises regarding the salvation of His chosen nation have not failed. There remains a remnant within Israel who have been chosen to believe in Jesus Christ. Nothing will circumvent the fulfillment of God’s salvation toward them. In this fifth major section, Paul builds his case for the sovereign election of God in salvation. He shows that within the chosen nation of Israel, not all Israel is Israel. That is to say, though they are an elect nation, there is a remnant within the nation that has been sovereignly elected for salvation. Further, he states that Gentiles are also included among those chosen for salvation. Romans 9 provides the most straightforward and comprehensive case for the doctrine of the sovereignty of God in salvation to be found anywhere in the Bible. If a person is declared to be the righteousness of God, it is, ultimately, because God chose that individual in eternity past to receive this perfect standing before Him. Paul will conclude this section on predestination with a doxology. The apostle writes, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). This succinctly summarizes the first eleven chapters of Romans that have presented the most thorough presentation of the gospel found anywhere in the Bible. Everything regarding salvation lies within this statement. “All things” are “from Him,” meaning God is the Author and Provider of all grace from eternity past. Further, “all things” are “through Him,” meaning God is the Administrator and Applier of this grace. “All things” are “to Him,” meaning that God is the Aim and purpose of grace. Paul then asserts the only proper response there can possibly be: “To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (verse 36). Because the righteousness of God is provided, applied, and preserved entirely by God, all glory must be ascribed to Him. A proper understanding of the first eleven chapters of Romans will always lead to this conclusion. God designed the gospel and gives the faith to believe it. He also provided the Savior to secure the righteousness we need. He accomplished all this for His own glory. If any part of the righteousness we need is attributed to us, the glory, in part, would be shared between God and man. But all glory goes to God because He has provided all the righteousness we need to be right before Him. VI. Presentation: Righteousness Practiced (12:1-16:27) The final major section of Romans is found in chapters 12 to 16, where Paul shows the specific manner with which the righteousness of God is to be lived. The apostle shows how the teaching of the doctrine must be connected to daily life. Truth without application is a contradiction in terms. Romans 12:1 begins with the word “therefore,” which is arguably the most important “therefore” in the Bible. It functions as the connecting bridge, joining chapters 1-11 with chapters 12-16. In this section, Paul shows how the righteousness of God is to be lived on a practical level. The gospel is relevant regarding how to live in order to glorify God. Christianity is not merely an intellectual pursuit that never affects the heart, nor activates the will. Sanctification is not sitting in an ivory tower being disconnected from the realities of life. It is not addressing philosophical questions that have no practical relevance for the manner with which we live. This section details how we are to be living in conformity with the standard of God’s own holiness. Christianity gets down into the fabric of our daily lives. The gospel impacts how we live every moment of every day. God will not lower the standard one half inch to meet anyone where we are. Neither is God going to meet us halfway. The standard established by God is Himself. He requires conformity to His own moral perfection.

Three Great I Am’s – Romans 1:14-16

OnePassion Ministries January 19, 2017

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I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 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 (Romans 1:14-16). To every believer, a sacred stewardship has been entrusted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is incumbent upon each one of us to invest it wisely and aggressively into the lives of others. The message of salvation in Jesus Christ is like a vast fortune that has been entrusted to us. We are accountable before God to invest it into the lives of people. We cannot hide the good news and bury it in the ground. We must put it out in the marketplace of this world. We must deposit it into people who do not know Jesus Christ. We cannot be a hoarder of the truth, but be a shrewd investor of this sacred message and see it yield an eternal rate of return throughout the ages to come. When we stand before the Lord on the last day, we will give an account for what we did with the gospel. We will not be asked what our pastor did with the gospel. Nor what our elders did with it. Each of us, individually, will have to answer to the Lord for how we invested the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not enough to come to a Bible study and take notes. It is not enough to be able to articulate what the gospel is. More than that, the gospel must be invested. The message of salvation must be proclaimed to this perishing world so that sinners may to come to a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we continue to investigate the prologue of Romans, this opening section is all about the gospel. This is the good news of salvation that is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In the first seven verses, we looked at the fundamental truths of the gospel. In verses 8-13, we looked at the qualities of a servant of the gospel found in the apostle Paul. In this lesson, we want to look at Romans 1:14-16, in which the thrust of these verses is that it is not enough to know the gospel in your head. You have to speak the gospel with your mouth. Obligated, Eager, and Excited In Romans 1:14-16, the apostle begins each verse with the strong resolve of “I am.” These words reveal Paul’s compelling sense of obligation in the proclamation of the gospel. These three “I am’s” reveal his eagerness and excitement for the spread of the gospel. It is as if we are looking directly down into the heart of the apostle Paul. Here is the burning passion of his soul. Here is what motivates him and propels him forward. Here are the three great “I am” statements of Paul concerning the gospel. That which fuels Paul must fuel us as well. So let us give special attention to what the apostle says here. I. I AM UNDER OBLIGATION (1:14) Paul begins by saying, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (verse 14). Notice that he begins, “I am,” in the present tense. Not, “I will be” in the future. Nor “I once was” in the past. The use of the present tense indicates the constant state of his life. Every moment of every day, this is true. Paul writes on his third missionary journey while in Corinth. But no matter where Paul is, whenever it is, he is always under obligation. He is not saying, “I am only under obligation when I am preaching on Sunday morning.” Nor is he saying, “I am only under obligation when I am teaching on Monday.” This is not a multiple choice, and he gets to pick and choose which days he is under obligation with the gospel. This sacred duty is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. “Under Obligation” When Paul says, “under obligation,” the King James and New King James versions say, “I am a debtor.” That is very much the idea, though, “obligation” works as well. As you know, it is hard to go from one language to another language. The word (opheiletes) means ‘a person indebted, one who owes another.’ Its background speaks of a financial obligation that is owed by one person to another. If you are a debtor to someone, you have an obligation to pay off the amount that is owed. This should initially strike us as surprising for two reasons. The first reason is that salvation is a free gift. How can Paul be a debtor if he received grace as a free gift? Paul will talk about salvation as a pre-paid gift, “Being justified as a gift by His grace” (Romans 3:24). Likewise, he writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). How could Paul be in debt after he received a free gift for which he paid nothing? How could Paul say he has gone into debt for a free gift? Clearly, Paul is not in debt to God to pay for his salvation that has been provided without cost by grace. The second reason this is surprising is that Paul has never been to Rome. Neither has he bought anything in Rome. He has never even met these believers. Yet he claims to be in debt with people he has never been to see. How does this work? You can be in debt two ways. One way is if someone lends you $100, as long as that $100 is in your pocket, you are a debtor to the lender. You need to give it back to him at some point. The other way would be if someone gave you a $100 bill and said, “When you see a certain person, give him the $100 bill.” This results in a two-way debt. As long as this $100 is in your pocket, you are not only in debt to the lender, but to the person to whom you are to give it. This second way is the manner in which Paul means he has incurred this debt. A Two-Way Debt As this related to Paul, he understood that the vast riches of the gospel had been deposited into his account the moment he became a believer. He was made the recipient of the free gift of salvation. But he was charged by God to give it to others. He must share the gospel with unbelievers in order to discharge his debt. He must tell people about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation in order to remove his obligation to God and those without the gospel. The same is true for us. As long as I withhold the gospel from someone else, whether it is in my office, in my family, at school, or someone I sit next to on an airplane, I remain in debt to them, because God has entrusted to me the truth to give to them. However, in a far greater way, I am in debt to God with a heightened sense of accountability to Him. On the last day, I am going to have to give an account to God, and it will be revealed whether I invested the gospel into the lives of others or if I hoarded the truth and kept it to myself. It is my personal responsibility to share the gospel with others, and I am accountable to God for whether or not I do this. In this sense, all believers are under obligation to God and unbelievers. A Watchman on the Wall In the Old Testament, the imagery of being under obligation was presented with a different metaphor than being a debtor. The prophet Ezekiel said he was like a watchman on the wall, and there were people going about their day-to-day business behind the wall. If the watchman sees the enemy coming, he must blow the trumpet in warning. If the people do not respond, and the enemy comes and destroys them, their blood is on their own hands. That is to say, their death was their own fault because they failed to heed the warning. If they chose to turn a deaf ear to the warning, they will die because of their own refusal to act upon the truth. On the other hand, Ezekiel says, if the watchman sees the enemy coming and chooses not to blow the trumpet, and the people are destroyed, their blood is on his hands. He was charged to warn them, but if he failed to do so, he was culpable for their death. By this analogy, Ezekiel saw himself to be a watchman on the wall. He had been appointed by God to be a prophet who would sound the divine message. No matter how difficult or unpleasant was the truth to be proclaimed, regardless of how unpopular it would make him with the people, he must be the faithful mouthpiece for God and bring the message. In like manner, when Paul met with the elders at Ephesus after he had been with them for three years, he reminded them that he had fulfilled his obligation to give them the full counsel of God. As he said goodbye to them, he could say, “I am innocent of the blood of all men” (Acts 20:26). He had spoken both publicly and house to house, both in big groups and small groups, and he had not failed to blow the trumpet. Therefore, his hands were free from the blood of all men. If any turn a deaf ear to the gospel he preached, their destruction was due to their own unbelief. That is what Paul is saying in Romans 1:14 when he says, “I am under obligation.” He was compelled to go to Rome in order to discharge his debt to the people there. This same obligation is binding upon you and me. Just like the watchman on the wall, we will each give an account on the last day for whether or not we shared the life-saving message of salvation. We are under obligation to do something with the message of the gospel. We must give it to others as the divinely-appointed opportunities arise. I want you to think about who you will cross paths with today. You must have this predetermined mindset that as God gives you the opportunity to witness for the Lord, you are resolved to capture the moment. You are purposed to talk to them about Jesus Christ. You are not going to have to pray about it, because you have already decided to testify for Him. “Both to Greeks and to barbarians” Paul explains to whom he is under obligation, “both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (verse 14). Here, Paul is using a literary devise called “parallelism,” where there is an A line and a B line. The second line restates the same truth as the first line, but with different words or expands the truth of the first line. We will look closer at the meaning behind Paul’s words. When Paul says he is under obligation “to Greeks,” he refers to his indebtedness to those who are at the top of society’s ladder. They were the cultured and educated of the ancient society. The Greeks were refined and polished. They loved literature and the arts. They had been trained in social graces and manners. The Greeks were those who had arisen to the top of the social and cultural scene of the day. They had read the philosophers of Athens and were very conversant with people on many learned subjects. Paul believed he must bring the gospel to those who had ascended to the highest levels of society. But Paul also writes that he is under obligation “to barbarians.” The barbarians were the total antithesis of the Greeks. If the Greeks were at the top of the social ladder, the barbarians were in the basement. You could not be any more base than they were. The barbarians were crude and rude, lacking in any social graces or cultural polish. They had no learning and could not even read. The word “barbarian” was a derisive term used by the Greeks who looked down upon them. To the Greek mind, when the barbarians spoke, their pronunciation of words was so rough that they abused the language. They could hardly be understood in what they were saying. When they spoke, it sounded as if they were saying, “Bar, bar, bar, bar, bar.” ‘Barbarian’ is not even a word, but a mocking of people who have never been taught how to read, write, or speak with elegance. Paul must also reach them with the gospel. By this phrase, “both to Greeks and to barbarians,” Paul uses a figure of speech known as inclusion, where the author states the two extreme sides. What is implied is that he is also addressing everyone in-between. It would be like saying this, “From the east coast of America to the west coast.” That means not just New York and California, but it implies every flyover state in-between such as Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and everywhere else. When Paul says, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,” he means not only to those on the top rung and the bottom rung of life, but to every other rung on the ladder. In other words, he is under obligation to everyone. If a person is breathing, he is indebted to them to talk to them about Jesus Christ, as God gives him the opportunity. “Both to the Wise and Foolish” Paul then says, “Both to the wise and to the foolish” (verse 14). This is another way of saying the same thing. It is another layer of parallelism that refers to “the Greeks and Barbarians.” In this context, “the wise” does not refer to those who are well-taught in the things of the Lord. The reference is to those who are wise in the things of this world (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). These are those who are wise in their own eyes, those who have excelled to the highest level of worldly schools and secular society. They are educated in the philosophies and ideologies of this evil world system. But the sad fact is, they are unaware that they do not know the most important thing in life, namely, God Himself. They are not wise in the matters of the kingdom of God. Instead, they are wise in the things that are spiritually bankrupt. “The foolish” matches up with the barbarians. These are those who have never been educated in school. They grew up on the wrong side of town. They have not had the financial advantages and social privileges that have been afforded to the wise. They are not just foolish in the things of the Lord, but are even foolish in the things of the world. Paul knows he is under obligation to the foolish as well as to the wise. This includes everyone in-between. Paul cannot say that his ministry is exclusively to upper-class people. Nor is it only to lower class people. According to Paul, that kind of smug attitude is wrong. Whoever God providentially brings across his path as he travels the road of life, he is under obligation to talk to them about the gospel. This is as God gives him reasonable opportunity. By and large, he understands that he must bloom wherever he is planted, according to God’s sovereign providence. He is going to talk about Jesus Christ to whoever are the closest around him. We Are Under Obligation There are people today that I hear saying, “There is no such thing as duty or obligation in the Christian life. There is no indebtedness that is laid on me. Any talk about obligation makes you a legalist.” They say things like, “You are putting us under the law. I am free to live however I want to live. I can do what I want to do.” Let me say, that is sheer fool’s talk. The fact is, as believers, we are under obligation to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Moreover, we are also under obligation to others. Paul makes that abundantly clear in this text. Wherever the Lord sends you, you are under obligation to speak to people about Jesus Christ. This presupposes as God opens doors of opportunity. I am not talking about being a wild-eyed fanatic, standing on a street corner, and intimidating people with the gospel. I am talking about building bridges towards people, befriending them, getting to know them, and as the opportunity presents itself, talking to them about the gospel. Some of us have been building bridges with people for years. At some point, we have to carry the gospel across that bridge to others and talk to them about Jesus Christ in order to discharge our responsibility. When the apostle Paul says, “I am under obligation,” we must understand that this implies every believer as well. What is true of Paul is true for every one of us. Paul is not in a special category by himself, while the rest of us are in a different category. Paul is not the only one under obligation. What he says here, he is speaking to every believer today. In witnessing, the easiest thing can be to board a plane and fly to a far-away foreign country to witness to people you will never see again. It is easier for us to be bold with them than with people we see everyday in our normal routine. Short-term missions abroad is easier in that regard. You want to know what is hard? It is to be a witness for Christ in your own family. That is tough, because you are going to see them on an ongoing basis. It can be equally hard to witness to people with whom you work. When you speak to them about the gospel, it will often be offensive to them. Being bold with them is much harder than talking to a stranger. We must talk about the gospel on an ongoing basis with those to whom we are the closest. The Lord has sovereignly placed you in their lives to point them to Jesus. Just like Paul, we, too, are under obligation to all men. II. I am Eager (1:15) Next, Paul writes, “So for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (verse 15). In other words, he is saying, no matter what anybody does, for my part, he is eager to preach the gospel. “Eager” (prothumos) is a compound word that pictures the forward lean of a runner, pressing forward with the gospel. The main root word for “eager” (thumos) is the same word for passion. It literally means ‘heavy breathing.’ The word gives the picture of a horse that is breathing heavy, ready to charge ahead in the day of battle. The word passion even carries the idea of the heavy breathing of a husband and wife’s intimate, physical relationship. There is a heated excitement in the pursuit of something. This word has the prefix (pros) that intensifies the word. When it comes to the gospel, Paul is leaning forward to proclaim its truths to all people. If everybody is witnesses for Christ or if nobody does this, for my part, Paul is eager to take the gospel to others. The apostle is taking ownership of his personal obligation in preaching the gospel. Every one of us needs to be able to say, “For my part, I am eager.” It is one thing to have an obligation to pay a debt, but it is something else to be eager to pay it off. Anyone can be under obligation, but then drag their feet to discharge their duty. They may think, “Can I just get this witnessing over with?” However, it is something else to be spring-loaded, sitting on ready, eager to tell others about Christ. Just like Paul, we must have the heart motive that it is a privilege to tell others about Christ. It is even a joy. It is fulfilling the very purpose of why we are here on planet earth. “To Preach the Gospel” When Paul says, “I am eager to preach the gospel,” he is not just eager to live the gospel in front of people. If he only lives the gospel, people will go to hell thinking he is a good person. How did that help them? In fact, it would be self-serving that he is only living as a good person in front of them, but not speaking the gospel to them. It is taking the easy road, keeping a comfortable distance, so that their feelings will not be hurt by the offense of the gospel. Nobody is going to heaven because they think he is a good person. He must open his mouth and speak the gospel to others. The words “to preach the gospel” (euangelizo) is one word in the Greek language. We derive the English word ‘evangelism’ from it. This one Greek word comes to us as three or four words in English, “to preach the gospel.” You can almost hear evangelism in euangelizo. The word “also” clearly implies he has been preaching the gospel eagerly wherever he goes. That means whether Paul is in Corinth, Ephesus, or wherever he travels, he is eager to preach the gospel, no matter where he is. For the apostle, his strongest passion is to reach Rome with the gospel. Hardest to Reach This is an amazing statement, because the toughest place in the known world to preach the gospel would have been Rome. This was the capital of the Roman Empire, where flagrant depravity was prevalent everywhere. Rome was a cesspool of inequity as the most idolatrous, immoral, incestuous place in the known world. Yet despite how dark it is, Paul declares that he is eager to go to Rome, the toughest place, to share the gospel. He knows that the darkness cannot expel the light, but the light will always expel the darkness. Therefore, Paul is ready and eager to go to Rome. Paul’s own conversion is a prime example of one who was the hardest to reach with the gospel. No one was further away from Jesus Christ than Saul of Tarsus. Paul understands that if he can be brought to faith in Christ, then anybody can. If the Lord can capture him, the Lord can capture anyone If he, the chief of sinners, can be saved, then any other sinner can be won to Christ. He was one who would be labeled as “hardest to reach” with the gospel. Yet he was the one who the Lord saved. This begs the question: What is your Rome? Where is your hardest place to witness? Is it with your closest friends? Is it with people with whom you work? Is it with family members? Who are those people that you have almost written off as those who are impossible to reach with the gospel? We have to be eager to reach those who are the furthest away from the Lord. Like Caleb going into the Promised Land, who wanted the biggest mountain with the biggest giants, Paul is eager to go to the most difficult place, Rome. We must be ready and eager to go to the hardest places to reach the hardest people with the gospel. III. I AM NOT ASHAMED (1:16) There is one more “I am” statement that Paul makes here. After he says, “I am under obligation” (verse 14) and “I am eager” (verse 15), then he says, “I am not ashamed” (verse 16). Please note again the full impact of these two words, “I am.” He does not say, “I will be not ashamed,” as if one day he will finally be this. He does not say, “I am hoping to be not ashamed.” He does not say, “One day, I will arrive at this.” No, Paul declares in the present tense, “I am not ashamed.” This is his constant state. This is his habitual lifestyle. Paul puts this statement – “I am not ashamed of the gospel” – in the negative by using a rare figure of speech known as litotes. This is a deliberate understatement that uses a double negative. He combines the word “ashamed” with “not,” both of which are negative. This actually means the total opposite of being ashamed of the gospel. He states dramatically that he is unashamed of the message of salvation. Isaiah 55:11 uses this same figure of speech when it says that God’s word will not return to Him void. This means, it will powerfully perform all that He intends. Here, this figure of speech – litotes – uses two negatives to make one positive. This form states a truth with an especially strong effect. It carries an extra punch that lodges it into the reader’s mind. Paul could have simply said, “I am fired up for the gospel.” Or “I am excited and eager to preach it.” But there is a far greater impact to put it with a double negative. “The Power of God” Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. When he states, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation,” “it” refers to the gospel. This is why Paul is so eager to preach the gospel, as he stated in verse 15. This is, likewise, why he is not ashamed in verse 16. It is because the gospel has the supernatural power to liberate believers from their bondage to sin. It does not matter how sinful a person is. It does not matter into what deviant lifestyle they have fallen. It does not matter if you are a Greek or a barbarian, or wise or foolish. It does not matter who you are, what you are, or where you are. The gospel is far more powerful than the power of your sin. The gospel is able to overcome any hardened resistance against God. The gospel is far more powerful than any sinful lifestyle. This word “power” (dunamis) comes from a Greek word that comes into the English language as ‘dynamite.’ The gospel is the explosive dynamite of God unto salvation. There is no more powerful message in the entire world than this truth. No message has a greater life-changing, eternity-altering impact than the gospel. No message makes a deeper effect upon a person’s life. No message has the power to change them from the inside out than the gospel. Any other message is simply behavior modification. Mere religion is only an outward face life of a person’s life. The gospel alone has the divine power to revolutionize a person’s life so that they are no longer the same. Paul writes elsewhere, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When the gospel explodes in their life, they are no longer the same person. A Total Transformation No one can receive the gospel, and it not dramatically impact their life. When you believe the gospel, you will be radically transformed at the deepest level of your being. The gospel is not just painting the exterior of your life. This is a total reconstruction process. The old practices of sin are torn down. New things are put in its place. You are totally rewired and restructured. You have a new mind, a new heart, and a new will. You have a new disposition. You have a new standing before God. You have a new priority, new pursuit, new life direction, and new destiny. There could not be a more dramatic makeover of your life than what happens when you receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believing in Him is not just a box you check on a religious survey. The gospel brings the total transformation of your life from the inside out. When you believe, you will never be the same again. I want to say this emphatically: If this dramatic change has not happened in your life, then you have never received the gospel. The gospel explodes in a believer’s life like an erupting volcano. The person who wrote this verse – the apostle Paul – could not have been anymore in opposition to the gospel before he believed. He was hell-bent on apprehending the Christians in Damascus and dragging them back to Jerusalem. He was intent on putting them to death, like Stephen had been put to death. Paul once believed that the gospel was blasphemy against God. He was convinced it was abomination to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. But in one life-changing moment, Paul was captured by the power of the gospel. He was knocked off his high horse, and His entire life was dramatically changed. He was immediately transformed from death to life, from darkness to light. “Unto Salvation” Paul says that the gospel is the power of God “unto salvation.” The word “salvation” (soteria) means ‘deliverance from great danger, rescue from ruin.’ What is this danger from which the gospel saves? The answer is, from God Himself, from the wrath of God. Romans 1:18 states, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men.” God’s steaming-hot vengeance and fiery hatred of sin is bearing down upon every unbeliever. Those outside of Christ are but a heartbeat away from this soul-damning wrath. There is much more to the gospel than, “Smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” To the contrary, it is as Jonathan Edwards said in his famous sermon, all without Christ are sinners in the hands of an angry God. Edwards got this right out of the Bible. To be saved by God means to be rescued from His wrath. The gospel does not save from superficial felt needs like loneliness. It does not deliver from a bad job. It does not rescue from personal insecurities. The gospel saves from the anger of God Himself against sinners. There is only One who can save from God, and that is God Himself. Only the power of God can rescue from the wrath of God. If God does not rescue sinners, God will damn them. They will suffer the torment and affliction of eternal hell. Hell cannot be hot enough for the person who is outside of Christ. He has risen up in rebellion against the holy God of heaven and earth. Every person desperately needs to be rescued from the imminent danger of the vengeance of His holy wrath. Hebrews 10:31 tells us, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” There is only one way to be saved from God’s wrath, and that is through the gospel of His grace. That is why Paul is so eager to go to Rome, because people there are under the wrath of God. Souls need to be delivered from eternal destruction. There is only one way for them to be saved, and that is through the gospel. “To Everyone Who Believes” Paul writes, “to everyone who believes.” The sole condition to receive salvation from God is faith alone in Christ alone. In other words, faith plus nothing. The one who “believes” (pisteuo) means to commit one’s life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It means to trust Him exclusively and to rely upon Him completely for a right standing before God. Faith in Him means no longer trusting in one’s own deeds or morality, but looking to Christ alone. This truth runs throughout the book of Romans, as well as the entire Bible. Paul writes, “the righteousness of God has been manifested…through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). God, he states, is “the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus….For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:26,28). This faith involves knowing the facts of the gospel intellectually and being persuaded of its veracity and one’s need for it inwardly. But, finally, it requires the volitional step of entrusting one’s life to Him decisively. “To the Jew First, Also the Greek” Paul explains that the power of God in salvation is “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul will now distinguish the world religiously. In verse 14, he distinguished the world culturally, by seeing it as comprised of Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish. In verse 16, he distinguishes the world religiously, as Jews and Greeks. Whether you are a Jew or a Greek, salvation is only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, this gospel is for everyone. There is not one way for a Jew to be saved and a different way for a Gentile to be right with God. There is only one narrow gate that leads into the kingdom of God, and that is through the gospel. When Paul says “the Jew first,” he is picturing the spread of the gospel like a ripple effect, like tossing a pebble into a pond. The ripple begins where the rock first hits the water, and subsequently the effect moves out from the center to the perimeter. The gospel came initially to the Jews, because they were God’s chosen people. Salvation, Jesus said, would come through them (John 4:22). The Jews, in turn, were to take it to the Gentile world. However, they hoarded the saving message to themselves. In fact, when the prophet Jonah was commissioned to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, he ran in the opposite direction. He did not want the Gentiles to be saved, but wanted the gospel to stay inside Israel, the way it had always been. He did not want foreigners to receive this salvation and be included with the Jews. Jonah wanted to keep the gospel to himself. So he boarded a ship and headed to Tarsus, which is modern day Spain. That is like being in Dallas, and when God calls you to go east to New York, you get on a plane and fly west to Los Angeles. This runaway was trying to go as far away from what God wanted him to do as he possibly could. He did not want anyone else to have this salvation that had been given to the Jews. What a selfish mindset of national prejudice. What a self-absorbed, self-consumed way to live. But it is not just Israel who acted this way. It can be also the church. We often act as though we want to keep the gospel to ourselves. We can become so inward focused that it appears that we do not want anyone else to have this salvation. We can act as if we do not want anyone else to enter into this glorious grace that we have received. How contrary to what Paul says here. The gospel must be taken to everyone, because it is for everyone who believes. God’s Own Power We often forget how much power the gospel has. We sometimes think the power has to be in our presentation. But nothing could be further from the truth. God works through weak people to spread a powerful message. The power is in the gospel itself. When it is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, it explodes in human hearts. We do not have to make the gospel powerful. It is intrinsically powerful in itself. All we do is present the gospel as God gives us opportunities. Then we pray that God will cause its power to be unleashed in their souls when it is received by faith. The gospel is a supernatural message with supernatural power. This good news comes from God with soul-saving power that He alone possesses.

Profile of a Servant – Romans 1:8-13

OnePassion Ministries January 12, 2017

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First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles (Romans 1:8-13). It has been said that the apostle Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived. That claim would be hard to dispute. He was certainly the most dynamic force for the gospel in the first century and, arguably, in all church history. No one was more mightily used to spread Christianity throughout the known world than Paul. Wherever he went, the gospel was preached, souls were saved, and churches were planted. His passion for proclaiming Christ remains virtually unmatched over these many centuries. In order to understand what drove the apostle Paul in ministry, it is necessary that we receive a glimpse into the apostle’s heart. That is what these verses provide us. Here, he opens wide his heart and allows the believers in Rome to see his sincere desire to serve them. With humility of soul, Paul is unusually transparent as he gives them a personal insight into his own spiritual life. He wants them to know how strong is his desire to minister to their needs. He writes as a true servant of the Lord, who is giving himself selflessly to them for their spiritual good. A God-Given Love As Paul writes this epistle, what is amazing is that he had never been to Rome. He had never met these believers to whom he is writing this magnificent treatise. Unlike other churches that Paul had planted, such was not the case with this church in Rome. He is not writing to people whom he personally knows. He had never seen their faces and only knew some by name. This letter, nevertheless, reveals how large-hearted the apostle was for the church, wherever it was found. His heart is especially drawn to this flock in Rome. The more Paul loved God, the more his heart was enlarged for these fellow believers. This same deepening love for others should be found in us. The more we adore and worship God, the more we will experience a growing affection for others. Rather than withdrawing into seclusion and removing ourselves from other people, we should be ever advancing to serve the needs of those around us. We should serve our fellow believers in the body of Christ. Moreover, we should have a contagious faith that reaches out and spreads to others with the saving message of Jesus Christ. A Life of Service to Others As Paul begins the book of Romans, he expresses that he desires to come see the believers in Rome so that he can minister to them. When he wrote this letter, Paul was about to leave Corinth for Jerusalem to deliver the special offering he received from the Gentile churches for the poor Jewish saints. He hoped he would be able to travel from Jerusalem to Rome, and then to Spain. After his journey to Jerusalem, he longs to come to Rome and minister to the Romans. It is this spiritual mindset that a servant possesses as he lives for Christ. It is this selfless attitude that must exist in those who minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. As we consider these verses, I want to draw to our attention several timeless principles from the life of Paul that must be present in our spiritual lives. It is one thing for us to know the gospel, but something else to put it into practice. Now that we have believed this saving message, we need these same character qualities that were in Paul to be in us. If we are to be servants of God, the following eight virtues must be present in our lives. I. SPIRITUAL Mindset (1:8) First, we see that Paul lives with a spiritual focus. He sees opportunities to serve others through a spiritual lens. He writes, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (v. 8). What immediately drew Paul’s attention was the faith of these believers that was spreading to countless other people throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. More specifically, this meant the proliferation of the gospel. He gives thanks to God for the influence of their faith. This gratitude is directed toward God as an acknowledgment that He is the One who is behind this rapid expansion of the gospel. Paul recognizes that God is the Cause of their witness for the gospel to spread far and wide. He affirms that the outreach of their faith is being extended by the invisible hand of God. As he thinks of the witness of these believers, he thanks God, not them. This is the transcendent spiritual mindset that Paul has. A spreading faith that gives witness to the gospel is one primary way that the apostle appraised the greatness of a church. What captured his attention was how they proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ to the world. As Paul viewed the church in Rome, he was impressed by their faith, not the facilities in which they met. They were probably meeting in common houses and the catacombs. He was not taken with the location of their gathering places, wherever that was in the city. Rather, he was focused upon their vibrant gospel witness and their passion to make Jesus Christ known. Their true strength lay in their spreading His name to the surrounding Empire. This is what he valued in this church. Their faith in the gospel had spread far and wide, because Rome was the strategic nerve center for the entire Empire. All roads, it was said, led to Rome. Believing travelers leaving the Imperial City took the good news with them throughout Europe and Asia Minor, even to Africa. Their faith was so dynamic that it spread wherever they went to the surrounding regions. As they lived for Christ, they stood out like stars on a dark night. Even the unbelievers could see the reality of their commitment to Christ in that sin-infested realm. Their faith in Christ was out in the open for all to see and hear. It must be remembered that these early believers in Rome were not living in a Christian society. To the contrary, there was not a more immoral, pagan cesspool of iniquity than the Imperial City. Every foul depravity was present in Rome, including prostitution, adultery, lesbianism, homosexuality, and far worse. Nevertheless, this is exactly where God planted this gospel-witnessing church, next to the gates of hell. As the light shines brightest in the darkest night, their faith in Jesus Christ radiated throughout the Roman Empire. In These Dark Days This reality should be a great encouragement to us. In these dark days in which we live, we need to know that God most often works the greatest to build His church when the circumstances are the most difficult. God never has to have the political or social scene just right to plant His church. Sometimes we think a church can only grow in a certain sociological setting. It is presumed that God’s work can only thrive if certain conditions are met. But God delights in building churches in the darkest places under the most adverse surroundings. We need to be thanking God for the same contagious faith wherever we see it in other churches. We need to be intensely grateful to God for the witness of other believers for the gospel. We need to be praising God for wherever we see a testimony for the gospel making a difference in the world. And like the believers in Rome, we, too, must not hide our faith. What we believe, we want to be made known to the world around us. We want people to know where we stand with Jesus Christ. The gospel is primary in our lives. We want to make known the truth of Christ crucified to a lost, dying world. II. Servant Heart (1:9a) Second, we next see the commitment of Paul to serving God sacrificially. He writes, “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son” (verse 9). Here, as in the previous verse, Paul maintains his gospel focus. The apostle understands that he serves God through the preaching of the gospel. Ministry was not a job to him, but an opportunity to serve God. The word “serve” (latreuo) is translated in other places in the New Testament as ‘worship.’ For Paul, his service for God was one chief means by which he worshiped Him. His “preaching of the gospel” was an act of magnifying His name. He expounded the gospel in order to exalt the name of God and lead others to do so. Paul’s service for God, he says, was “in my spirit.” It was with his whole heart, with his whole being. That is, he served God from the depth of his inner person. It was not a shallow, superficial effort that he offered God. Rather, it was what rose up from the core of his soul with passion and zeal. Most specifically, Paul’s preaching of the gospel centered in God’s Son. He has already stressed that the gospel “concerns His Son” (1:3), who was raised from the dead by the Spirit (1:4), and through whom all “grace” comes (1:5). The preaching of the gospel was “for His name’s sake” (1:5). All Paul’s efforts to faithfully preach the gospel were centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is the kind of preaching that is much needed today. It is the proclamation of Jesus Christ in the fullness of His person as the Son of God and the Son of Man, truly God and truly man. It is the expounding of Christ as Lord and Savior, the only Redeemer and Reconciler of sinners. It is declaring Jesus as the highest Judge on the last day, before whom all the world will stand and give an account. III. SELFLESS Prayers (1:9b-10a) Third, Paul served the Lord with selfless prayers. He addressed the believers in Rome, stating that “God is my witness, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers” (verse 9). These regular intercessions for the believers in Rome are clear evidence of the selflessness of Paul. He was constantly praying for the churches and believers wherever the gospel went. This is an indication that his focus was not on himself, but was on others. He was doing more than merely thinking about them, but was actively approaching the throne of God on their behalf. He was petitioning God that in His will, he would be able to come to them in order to serve them. Paul understood the necessity of praying for those whom he desired to serve, that God would open doors through which he could pass in order to minister to others. Recently, there has been a shift in the focus of my prayers before I preach. In years past, I have been so focused upon myself that I have predominantly prayed for myself before stepping into the pulpit. I still ask for God’s grace in my preaching, but I have been convicted that I need to be more focused in prayer on those to whom I am speaking. I need to pray more that God will prepare their hearts to receive the message. I need to pray more that those who hear me will be saved and sanctified. I am consciously aware that I am totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit to bring my message to their inner person. Like Paul, we need to be praying selflessly for others that the gospel will prevail with them. IV. SUBMISSIVE Will (1:10b) Fourth, another aspect of a godly servant is his humility of being submissive to God. As this section continues, Paul writes, “making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you” (verse 10). By this statement, the apostle reveals that he was yielded to the sovereign will of God in his ministry. Paul clearly recognized the overruling providence of God. He knew that Jesus Christ holds the keys that can either unlock the doors before him or close them shut. Though Paul desired to travel to Rome, he knew that he could not do so unless the will of God allowed it. He could not use his apostolic authority to make it happen. Paul recognized that door will not open except by the sovereign hand of God. If anyone could have exclusively relied on his own ability in ministry to open doors and make things happen, it would have been the apostle Paul. He was a brilliant intellect, who had been trained at the feet of Gamaliel. He was personally taught by the risen Christ Himself. He was the author of inspired books in the New Testament. He was a powerful preacher and successful church planter. If anyone could have rested on their own God-given abilities, it would have been this extraordinary servant of God. However, he understood that he must pray for divine appointments to serve others. Paul will eventually make it to Rome, but it will not be how he imagined it would be. He would eventually arrive there as a prisoner of the Empire. He never dreamed that he would be taken there under arrest and would spend two long years confined in Rome. He finally made it to the capital city of the whole world, but not by the way he thought he would. From this, we learn that the path of providence often takes unexpected turns, but is laid out by an all-wise, sovereign God. In like manner, we, too, must be intercessors in prayer for such opportunities to serve God. I have never met a Christian who says, “I think I pray too much for others. I need to cut back on my prayer life.” That has certainly never been true in my life. I am always convicted that I need to be praying more for others. I find myself starting a lot of my prayers by confessing that I have not prayed enough for others. Our intercessions should begin with praying for the needs of those to whom we want to minister. Ultimately, the success of our ministry lies in the hands of our sovereign God. We can deliver the message to others, but God must open their ears and take it into their hearts if they are to receive the truth. Every Christian needs to have this same submissive will as was exhibited by Paul. Regardless what our own desires, we must be humbly yielding to the overruling providence of God. By way of personal testimony, there have been many times in my life when I have tried to open doors that the Lord kept shut. In each instance, God knew far better than I did and had a better plan for my life than what I ever would have dreamed. Surely, each one of us would give this same testimony. Even at times, when we reached our desired end, God often took us on a different path than what we ever imagined. As His servants, we must learn to submit to His sovereignty over our lives. V.  Steadfast Spirit (1:11) Fifth, we note that Paul expressed a strong desire to strengthen them with a spiritual blessing. He writes, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you so that you may be established” (verse 11). His desire to preach the gospel in Rome involved the initial conversion of souls. Further, his aim was to nurture the obedience of faith in believers (1:5). His intention was both to win converts and to strengthen and edify those who were already believers. He desired that the church in Rome be established and persevere in the faith. He longed that the believers “live in a manner worthy of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). Thus, he desires to come in order to fortify the Roman believers by giving them a more comprehensive understanding of the gospel, which would strengthen and edify them in the Lord. Paul realized that a sacred stewardship had been entrusted to him in the gospel. He must invest in others what has been deposited into him by the Lord. When he says “spiritual gift,” he is not referring to the supernatural ability to serve God, like what he mentions in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Rather, he means that he desires to give a spiritual blessing to those in Christ. He desires that their faith be more deeply grounded in the Lord. It would have been selfish to keep the truth to himself. He must not horde to himself the truth of the gospel. Conversely, he was steadfast to pursue imparting the truth into others. For Paul, merely knowing the truth of the gospel is never intended to be an end in itself. The desired goal of the knowledge of the gospel is that once it is received by faith, it must be deposited into other people. The Romans must not only know and believe the gospel, they must be transformed by it. His goal was that people, once saved, would be sanctified by the gospel. Success was more than having the truth taught to the mind. The gospel must affect their walk with the Lord. This necessitated that Paul travel to Rome in order to preach the message of the gospel. VI. Self-Denying Humility (1:12) Sixth, we see Paul’s humility in his service of the Lord. He writes, “that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine” (verse 12) That is a remarkably humble statement by this highly-regarded apostle. In many ways, Paul has been elevated by God’s will to an exalted level of ministry. He could have said, “I am an apostle. I will minister to you, but I hardly see how you can minister to me.” But instead, he expressed that he “be encouraged together” with them. In other words, he wanted to encourage them, but he also desired that they encourage him. Paul understood that the Christian life is a two-way street. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man another” (Proverbs 27:17). The apostle knew that whenever they would be together, he would minister to them and they would minister to him. What an extraordinarily humble statement by Paul. Yet sadly, how contrary this is to what we see with many spiritual leaders today, who strut around like peacocks before others. Too often, pastors appear aloof from those whom they serve. They seem above the fray, unapproachable, unable to receive feedback from others. Some ministers try to outdo what another is doing. But to the contrary, Paul says that he desires to come to Rome and have mutual ministry with each other. He is inviting them into his life, anticipating that time when he will come. Paul does not have an elitist mentality. He has a humble, selfless heart, making him easy to talk to. So must we be the same VII. sensitive Heart (1:13a) Seventh, we see in Paul that a godly servant should be sensitive to the spiritual needs of others. Paul writes, “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I have often planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far)” (verse 13). Why would he say that? The reason lies in this fact, that the believers in Rome were expecting him to come and minister to them. However, the apostle had not yet arrived. Consequently, they were doubting his sincerity in wanting to come to them. He realized that they must be thinking, “If Paul really loved us, he would have been here by now.” With a pastor’s heart, Paul has a genuine sensitivity for how they must be feeling. He wants them to know that he has been attempting to travel there, but he has been providentially prevented. He has not yet been provided with an open door by God. Paul, nevertheless, wanted them to know that his heart’s desire was to come there. Here is a sensitivity toward others that is needed by every one of us. As we minister the gospel, we need to be considerate of what others are feeling. We have certain expectations of each other and must be alert to how we may be disappointing others around us. We must be mindful of how we may have injured others. We must regard others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We would do well to be as discerning toward others to whom we minister. VIII.  SOUL-WINnING Aim (1:13b) Eighth, the last quality of a godly servant that we see in Paul is being a soul winner. Paul concludes, “So that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles” (verse 13). This “fruit” refers to people that he desires to bring to faith in Christ. Their conversions will be the result of the seed of the word being sown into their lives. Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain” (John 15:16). He was referring to their fruitful gospel ministry that would see many souls brought to faith in Christ. Paul’s belief in sovereign election in no way hindered his initiative to share the gospel with others. In fact, the doctrines of grace fueled him to take action to reach others with the saving message of Christ. In desiring to go to Rome, his goal was to win souls to Christ. We learn from this that Paul was not content to merely proclaim the gospel with little regard for the outcome. He never assumed an attitude that his listeners could either take it or leave it. Paul was determined that people be saved. He longed for those without Christ to be converted through his preaching the gospel. As he made the truth known, he pled with people to commit their lives to Christ. He never tossed out the truth with a cavalier attitude. He was never indifferent to its reception or rejection. He longed to see fruit from his labor. He desired to see a harvest of souls from his labor. He yearned that the lost are brought into the kingdom through his efforts. The sovereignty of God in the doctrine of election and our human responsibility in evangelism must always be kept in balance. Divine predestination must never override our passion to reach souls. Martin Luther illustrated the necessary balance this way. He talked about the drunk man on the horse, who was always falling off the horse to one side or the other. That is the way, Luther explained, we tend to be in our Christian life. We fall out of balance to one side or the other. We are either so focused upon doctrine that we lose sight of our personal responsibility to tell other people about Christ. Or we are so committed to evangelism that we are superficial in our knowledge of the Scripture. What a challenge it is for us to be balanced, holding divine sovereignty in one hand and our human responsibility in the other. The passion to win people to Christ was a strong drive in Paul’s spirit, a fire in his bones. This drive was pouring out of him. This was down deep in his spirit. Reaching lost souls with the gospel was what Paul was about. A Needed Response As we have considered these character qualities, let me ask you this question: Which one of these aspects of Paul’s character most challenges you? Which one of these made you think, “I need more of this in my life?” That would be a very important self-diagnosis for you to make. Whatever is most needed in each one of our lives, it would be important for us to ask for the Lord’s help to develop us in this area. Positively speaking, where do you see God at work in your life right now? Where do you see progress in your spiritual growth? Where do you see the hand of God at work in your life?

Getting the Gospel Right, Part II – Romans 1:3-7

OnePassion Ministries January 10, 2017

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Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:3-7). The gospel is the good news that God has provided salvation for perishing sinners through the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ. But the gospel is more than good news. It is the best news that anyone will ever receive. No one will ever hear better news than what they hear in the gospel of God. Here is the glorious news that there is deliverance from the gathering storm of the coming wrath of God on the last day. The book of Romans contains the most comprehensive treatment of the gospel to be found anywhere in Scripture. In this letter, the apostle Paul traces the building development of the gospel, from condemnation to glorification, from guilt to glory. In this epistle, Paul follows the logical development of the gospel from the depths of human depravity to the heights of divine grace. Here is the full spectrum of the gospel that reaches back to eternity past and extends into eternity future. Here is the alpha and omega of the gospel, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. In our last lesson, we began looking at the opening prologue to this epistle to the Romans. Specifically, we began looking at verses one through seven and were only able to investigate the first two verses. In this lesson, we want to continue where we concluded and consider verses three through seven. As we do, I want to extend the same outline that we began using last time. To this point, we have seen: (1) The Messenger of the Gospel (verse 1), (2) The Source (verse 1), (3) The Meaning (verse 1), (4) The Exclusivity (verse 1), and (5) The Antiquity (verse 2). Presently, we will consider more aspects of the gospel in verses three through seven. What we are considering in this opening prologue is a matter of first importance to our Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is not incidental, but fundamental to our spiritual lives. This is not peripheral, but primary – it is not secondary, but supreme. Let us give our utmost attention to the gospel truths contained in these verses. VI. The Subject of the Gospel (1:3-5a) Sixth, we note the subject of the gospel in verse 3. Please note the first word “concerning.” The gospel deals with what will follow in the next verses. Here is the substance of the gospel, namely, Jesus Christ. The Son of God is the alpha and the omega of the gospel. The gospel is rooted and grounded in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John Calvin rightly said, “The whole gospel is contained in Jesus Christ.” As we look at these verses, verse three gives us the person of Christ, verse four gives us the proof of Christ, and the beginning of verse five gives us the provision of Christ. The whole gospel is found in Jesus Christ. If you have Christ you have everything. If you do not have Him, you have nothing. “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:12). The Incomparable Person of Christ Paul begins his explanation of the subject of the gospel in verse three with the incomparable person of Christ. What makes this verse so remarkable is that this is one of the rare passages where we find both the deity and the humanity of Christ joined together in one text. He writes about the gospel that it is, “concerning His Son.” There can be no mistake but that the gospel concerns the eternal Son of the living God, the second Person of the Trinity. He is the One who is coequal and coeternal with the Father. Jesus Christ is as much God as God the Father and God the Spirit are God. That the gospel focuses upon and concerns itself with Jesus Christ is why Paul said, “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). He also said, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Someone may say, “Wait a minute, Paul. You wrote thirteen epistles in the New Testament and covered the full counsel of God. You addressed all ten major areas of theology – bibliology, theology proper, Christology, pneumatology, angelology, anthropology, soteriology, hamartiology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. Paul, you covered the full gamut. Why would you say to us that you determined to know nothing among us except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, when you said to the elders in Acts 20 that you have declared the full counsel of God?” The answer is that out of every area of theology, the lines rise and intersect at the highest apex in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the very heart and heartbeat of the gospel. In Colossians 1:28, Paul puts it even more succinctly, “we proclaim Him.” That was the sum and the substance of the gospel that Paul preached. It was all about Christ. What is the Gospel? A few years ago, I was preaching at the Shepherd’s Conference in Los Angeles. I did a radio interview with Todd Friel and at the end of the interview, he asked me to tell the large crowd gathered there what the gospel is. I made a beeline to the Lord Jesus Christ. I launched into His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, present enthronement, and imminent return. After the interview was over, I went to the speakers’ room where I spoke with John MacArthur, Al Mohler, and others. They asked what I had been doing, and I told them about the interview. Dr. MacArthur replied, “Ok, what is the gospel?” I went into a discourse on the Lord Jesus Christ. Shortly after, I flew to Ligonier and was sharing with Dr. Sproul about the interview. He asked me, “Ok, what is the gospel?” I again proceeded to give a diatribe on Jesus Christ. We should be able to wake up at 3:00 in the morning and, within two seconds, give the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you know anything, you have to know the gospel. You cannot be saved without the gospel. You cannot be a witness for Christ without the gospel. You might say, “Well, I will just live it.” Then people will go to hell thinking you are a good person. No one can be saved apart from the gospel. Truly God, Truly Man As verse three continues, we see the humanity of the Son of God. We read in verse three, “who was born of a descendent of David.” Eternal God without beginning was born? He entered the human race as a descendant of David, according to the flesh. This alludes to the virgin birth, to be like us, yet so unlike us. He came in the royal lineage of David that had been marked out through the centuries past by the prophets. Jesus was the God-man, truly God and truly man, not half-God and half-man. Jesus was God in human flesh. Jesus Christ had to be truly God, truly man in order to be our mediator. A mediator stands between two parties who have had a falling out in order to make peace between the two offended sides. These two parties are at enmity with one another. Or worse, they are at war with one another. In order to make reconciliation, a mediator has to be equal to both sides. There can be no partiality toward either side. Jesus had to be truly God if He was to represent God to us. And He had to be truly man if He was to represent us before God. No one else could have stood between God and the human race and mediated reconciliation between the two separated parties. No one else could have propitiated the righteous anger of God toward us. No one else could have redeemed us out of the slave-market of sin. No one except one who was truly God and truly man. We could not lift ourselves up to God by our own self-righteousness. We could not ascend up to God by our good works. God had to come down to us. That is what He did for us in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus entered the human race and got into our skin. He became one of us, that He might lift us up to the heights of heaven by His sinless life and substitutionary death. The person and work of Christ is the very heart and soul of the gospel that we have believed and preach. Whenever you give a witness to someone, you must speak of Christ. Spurgeon said, “The more gospel we would preach, the more of Christ we must preach.” There is no gospel outside of Jesus Christ. The Indisputable Proof of Christ In verse four, Paul writes about the indisputable proof of Jesus Christ. It says that He was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.” This is the ultimate validation that Jesus Christ is exactly who He claimed to be. Early in his public ministry, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). By this, He was referring to the temple of His own body and His own resurrection. Jesus later said, “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Jesus also said, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later” (Mark 9:31). The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead unmistakably affirms His full deity. In reality, the resurrection was a Trinitarian resurrection. In verse four, Paul notes the resurrection of Jesus Christ was, “according to the Spirit of holiness.” This is a Hebraism, meaning “by the Holy Spirit.” In many passages, the Scripture teaches that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 13:30). Here, God the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead. God the Son said that He would raise Himself from the dead. Jesus said, “I have authority to lay [my life] down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father” (John 10:18). All three Persons of the Trinity were active in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ Our Lord Notice the last four words of verse four, “Jesus Christ our Lord.” What Paul is saying is so important that he gives all three names for the Son of God, the Son of Man. Lest there be any misunderstanding of who is the subject and substance of the gospel, Paul uses all three names. “Jesus” is His saving name. It means “Jehovah Saves.” Matthew 1:21 explains, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus is His saving name. That is the mission. “Christ” is His strong name. It means “the anointed one.” He was anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit in Luke 3:21 as He inaugurated His public ministry. He was endued with power from on high in order to carry out His enterprise of salvation. He is the Christ, the anointed One, the One who was endued with supernatural power, even to hang upon the cross in His humanity. “Lord” is His sovereign name. Here, the Greek word kurios is used, meaning ‘despot, ruler, Lord over all.’ It is also used in Philippians 2:10-11 as Paul declares, “That every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Paul belabors this at the end of verse four, as if to take a pen and underscore it before our eyes. “Jesus Christ our Lord” is the subject and substance of the gospel. John 4:42 tells us, “this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” The Infinite Provision of Christ In verse five, we see the infinite provision of Christ. We have seen the person of Christ, the proof of Christ, and now the provision of Christ. Verse five begins with “through.” The word “through” means ‘a means or a channel.’ It is like a pipe through which something is flowing. “Through whom,” “whom” is a personal pronoun. Paul is not talking about an impersonal ‘what’ but a personal ‘whom.’ We are not talking about a mere plan, but about the person of Jesus Christ. “Through whom we have received grace.” “We” refers to all believers. There is nothing we can do to work for grace. It can only be “received.” “Grace” is not a reward for the righteous, but a gift for the guilty. It can only be received with the empty hand of faith. We did not earn it. We do not deserve it. We have not merited it. We did not work for it. God’s grace is freely given as a gift purchased by Jesus Christ. This includes every aspect of grace – saving grace, sanctifying grace, strengthening grace, serving grace, and sustaining grace. We have received “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Grace has been “multiplied” to us. This speaks of the overflowing, abundant grace that is flowing into our lives. All grace is through Christ. There is not one drop of grace outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only mediator by which the grace of God comes flooding into our lives. It all comes through this exclusive channel, through this one and only means, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. We can give our testimony and tell others about what God has done in our lives. But that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about us. It concerns Jesus Christ. Charles Spurgeon said that a sermon without Christ – or we could add, a witness without Christ – is like a day without the sun, a night without the moon, the ocean without water, the skies without the stars. A sermon without Christ is an empty well that mocks the traveler or a cloud that never rains. Christ is the Savior of sinners, the very subject and substance of the gospel. VII. The Demand of the Gospel (1:5b) Seventh, we see the demand of the gospel. In verse five, Paul continues to say that the gospel is intended “to bring about the obedience of faith.” The “obedience of faith” means the obedience that springs from faith. In other words, true saving faith produces obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as His sovereign will is revealed in His written word. The gospel calls for obedience at the moment of any person’s conversion. Obedience to Jesus Christ is not an optional step that occurs three or four years subsequent to our conversion. Obedience starts at conversion, because the gospel itself is more than merely a public proclamation. It is more than a free offer or an open invitation. It is these things, but it is more than that. The gospel is a divine imperative that commands our repentance and faith. Jesus inaugurated His public ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “Repent” is issued in the imperative mood, making it a command. Saving faith is a decisive step of obedience to the command of the gospel to believe in Jesus Christ. Unbelief is defiant disobedience (John 3:36), because God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). At the moment of conversion, genuine, true, saving faith immediately produces the initial obedience to Jesus Christ as one submits his life, denies himself, takes up his cross, entrusts his life to Christ, and walks through the narrow gate. Faith and obedience cannot be separated. True faith always produces obedience that leads to a transformed life. John Stott writes, “Paul looked for a total, unreserved commitment to Jesus Christ, which he called the obedience of faith. This is our answer to those who argue that it is possible to accept Jesus as Savior without surrendering to Him as Lord. If there is no obedience, there is no faith. It is just talk. It is just raising a hand, walking an aisle, signing a card, and getting wet. True, saving faith immediately comes under the Lordship of Christ and obeys Him even to receive the gospel.” This is precisely what the apostle Paul is teaching. VIII. The Scope of the Gospel (1:5c) Eighth, we see the scope of the gospel. As we continue in verse five, Paul writes, “among all the Gentiles.” This message that the gospel is to be preached to all the world, and it must be received by all the Gentiles. All tribes, all tongues, all nations, and all peoples must have the gospel brought to them. This is why we are committed to world missions and the global task of bringing the gospel to all peoples. There must be the worldwide endeavor of taking the gospel to every individual on the planet. The gospel is for everyone. If you are breathing today, you need the gospel. This reality brings us back to the point made earlier on the exclusivity of the gospel. If the gospel is for “all the Gentiles,” then there is no other message in the world by which men and women may be saved except through this gospel. There was not one way for someone to be saved in Rome, but a different way for people in Asia to be saved. Nor could there be a different way for the Russians to be saved apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is God’s only saving message for the world. IX. The Sake of the Gospel (1:5d) Ninth, Paul stresses the sake of the gospel at the end of verse five. He says, “for His name’s sake.” The gospel is for the honor and glory of the Son of God. Here is the highest purpose of the gospel. This saving message is, ultimately, for the fame of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that there would be a vast multitude of voices in the Hallelujah Choir, singing the praises of His name. The gospel is for the lofty purpose that throughout all the ages to come, there would be myriads upon myriads of fervent worshipers who will magnify the excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the purpose of the gospel. Getting people out of hell and into heaven is somewhat peripheral. What is primary is the magnification of Jesus Christ. At the heart of the gospel is that the Son of God would have a chosen bride who would be conformed into His image and who would sing His praises throughout all the ages to come. The gospel is the means by which this glorification of Jesus Christ would come to pass. The sake of the gospel is that Christ would be known, that Christ would be embraced, that Christ would be worshiped, that Christ would be honored, that Christ would be obeyed, and that Christ would be followed. The gospel is what elevates and exonerates Christ. X. The Success of the Gospel (1:6-7a) Tenth, Paul addresses the success of the gospel in verses six and seven. The apostle next addresses the believers in Rome as “among whom you also are the called of Christ Jesus; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints.” “You” clearly refers to all believers and believers only. They are “the called of Jesus Christ.” In the Bible there are mentioned three different calls of God, and each must be distinguished one from the other. R.C. Sproul said to me several times, “A good theologian makes careful distinctions. He knows how to slice a subject and make distinctions.” When we come to the matter of the call of Jesus Christ, there is the external call and the internal call. The external call is the voice of the preacher, the voice of the Sunday school teacher, the voice of the mother or father, the voice of one who would give a witness. As we say out loud, “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21), that is the external call. It can go only to the ear and no further. No one will ever be saved until there is this second call. One, there is the call to vocational ministry, we saw that in verse one. Paul was called to be “an apostle.” Everyone has received a vocational call to serve God in some capacity. Two, there is the external call of God whenever the gospel is made known. Jesus said, “Many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 22:14). Three, there is the internal call of God that draws the elect to faith in Jesus Christ. Theologians refer to it as the effectual call, meaning there is a cause and effect relationship between this call and saving faith. The effectual cause will always bring about the intended effect for which God extended it. This divine call apprehends the one called, and in that moment overcomes all human resistance. This call conquers the heart and brings that one to faith in Christ. It opens the heart and takes out the old heart of stone and puts in the heart of flesh. It writes God’s word upon the tablet of the heart and deposits the Holy Spirit within the one called. This summons causes the one subpoenaed to walk in the written statues of God. The Spirit of God, in that split second, grants repentance and faith. The sinner cries out, “Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, the sinner.” In this saving process, the conception took place before the delivery. God had already been sovereignly at work in that heart. All those whom He foreknew He predestined, and whom He predestined He called, and whom He called He justified, and whom He justified He glorified (Romans 8:29-30). The group He began with in eternity past is the group He will conclude with in eternity future. There are no dropouts along the way. There are none added along the way. God will have His way with His chosen people. In the day that God calls, the gospel will have a reception. The gospel will not go unheeded. There will be many who will reject it. But all those whom He foreknew and predestined, He will call into the kingdom. He will justify His called ones, and He will one day glorify them. This is the guaranteed success of the gospel made certain by God Himself. Our responsibility is to proclaim the gospel to as many people as possible and leave the results with God. We are to scatter the seed of the gospel as far and as wide as we can. That is what the word ‘broadcasting’ means. It is to cast the seed of the gospel as broad as we can. We must leave the results with God. God has already purposed and decreed that there will be a positive response to the gospel. XI. The Blessings of the Gospel (1:7b) Eleventh, we see the blessings of the gospel in the second half of verse seven. Paul concludes, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Both of these blessings flow from the gospel. Apart from the gospel, neither come to any person. The order of these words is important. First comes grace and then peace. These come from God the Father through the Son, applied by God the Spirit. The grace of God brings His peace to those called. The overflow of divine grace is supernatural peace. In verse seven, Paul does not say peace with God, but peace from God. He does not refer here to objective peace with God that is the result of justification. We find this objective peace mentioned later in Romans, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God” (5:1). In Romans 1:7, the reference is to the subjective peace of God, which is the inner calmness and tranquility of the heart that comes from God alone. This subjective peace is found in Philippians 4:6-7, when Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Only those who know God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, experience this all-sufficient grace and internal peace in the heart. Conclusion I want to ask you, does there need to be a response in your heart today to the gospel? Have you believed in Jesus Christ? Have you entrusted your life to Him who is the only Savior of sinners? Have you entered through the narrow gate? Have you been born again by the Spirit of God from above? Have you laid hold of Christ by faith? If you have never believed upon Jesus Christ, I am extending to you the external call on behalf of the King, who has sent me as His ambassador to proclaim to you the good news that God receives sinners into His kingdom. God has thrown open the gates of paradise, and the Savior is standing in the gateway saying, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). Come to Christ now! Have you ever come to Christ by faith? Come to Him this moment. This is more than an invitation. The gospel is commanding you today to step out of the shadows and darkness of your unbelief and to enter into the light of His grace and His mercy. He will receive you. He is a physician who has not come for those who are well, but for those who are sick. He has not come for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. He has come for those who are just like you. If you will come to Christ in repentance and faith, He will gladly receive you. Come to Him in humility and submission. Come to Him in saving faith, and He will gather you into His loving arms and never let you go.

Getting the Gospel Right, Part I – Romans 1:1-2

OnePassion Ministries January 5, 2017

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Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures (Romans 1:1-2). The imminent theologian and author R.C. Sproul taught Systematic Theology in seminary for many years. He began each semester by asking his students this simple question: What is the gospel? As he listened to the answers, he was amazed at how few men aspiring to the ministry could give a correct answer to this basic question. What an important question to answer correctly. You cannot be wrong about the gospel and be right with God. To be right about the gospel is to be right about everything that truly matters. Getting the gospel right is that important. There is no better place to acquire a right understanding of the gospel than in the book of Romans. This is the apostle Paul’s magnum opus, his greatest work among the thirteen epistles that he wrote. Romans was intentionally placed first among the twenty-one epistles in the New Testament, not because it was the first epistle written, because it was not. The letters of James and Galatians were written first. Romans was placed first, immediately after the four Gospels and Acts, because it towers in importance over the rest of the epistles. To understand the message of this book is to understand the gospel. The great German Reformer, Martin Luther, said of Romans, it is “a gateway to heaven,” “an open door into paradise.” He claimed it is “the chief part of the New Testament,” and “the very purest gospel.” Luther also stated, “Every Christian should know [Romans] word for word, by heart…[and should] occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.” According to Luther, Romans “can never be read or pondered too much. The more it is dealt with, the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.” This book is that important to every single individual, whether they recognize it or not. The Gospel of Jesus Christ The central theme of the book of Romans is found in its opening verses. In reality, the entire book of Romans is found in condensed form here in this opening prologue. There is no doubt what this chief of all books is about. It is about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot think of a better study for us to undertake than for us to deepen our understanding of and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the opening prologue, Romans 1:1-17, we see the gospel directly mentioned five times. In verse one, “the gospel of God.” In verse nine, “the preaching of the gospel of His Son.” In verse fifteen, “I am eager to preach the gospel.” In verse sixteen, “for I am not ashamed of the gospel.” In verse seventeen, “for in it,” referring to the gospel. This book is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we look at these verses, I want to set before you several headings that will help us in getting the gospel right with great precision. I. The Messenger of the Gospel (1:1) First, we note in verse one the messenger of the gospel and author of this book, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (verse 1). Never had anyone more opposed to the gospel become its strongest exponent. “Paul” had previously been Saul of Tarsus, a devout Jewish Pharisee, who was hardened in external religion and self-righteousness. He was determined to eliminate Christianity from the face of the earth as its chief persecutor. But then the risen Christ appeared to him on the Damascus road and he was suddenly converted to faith in the Lord Jesus. Once an avowed enemy, he was now the leading preacher of the gospel he once opposed. A Slave of Christ Jesus So humbled was Paul by this dramatic change that he first identified himself as “a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.” The word “bond-servant” is better translated as “slave.” There is a noticeable difference between the two designations. A bond-servant was hired by a master, who paid him wages for the services rendered. But a slave was owned by his master, who has paid a price to purchase him. While a bond-servant still retained some degree of personal rights and freedom, a slave was much like an acquired piece of property by his master. All the needs of the slave were met by the master. What the slave owed his master was unwavering obedience. As he served in his master’s house, he was to give unwavering devotion to his desires and pleasures. This is precisely how Paul saw himself, as a slave in the employment of his master, Jesus Christ. Paul recognized that his life was no longer his own. He now belonged to Jesus Christ, who had bought him at the cross with the high price of his shed blood. Paul gave himself entirely to the cause of Christ, which was centered in the gospel. For the rest of his life, he was devoted to the preaching and teaching of the truths of the gospel. “Called as an Apostle” Further, Paul identified himself and one who was “called as an apostle.” He had certainly not sought this position. Nor had he signed up for it. Paul had been sovereignly chosen and “called” by God Himself for this ministry position. He would state, “God…set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16). This was the work of the gospel to which Paul had been called from before the foundation of the world. Specifically, Paul had been called to be “an apostle.” This word (apostolos) means ‘one who is sent’ or ‘a sent one.’ It referred to a delegate or messenger who has been officially commissioned on a mission. An apostle in New Testament times was one who received direct revelation from God and was given a delegated authority from Jesus Christ to preside over the affairs of the church. Paul makes this designation so that the believers in Rome will know that he writes with infallible and binding authority over the affairs of the church. Everything that follows in this letter is the unvarnished truth that directly proceeds from Jesus Christ Himself. “Set Apart for the Gospel” Moreover, Paul makes known that he is “set apart for the gospel.” This is to say, he has been singled out and separated by God for the service of the gospel. All else was secondary, and this was primary. This word “set apart” (aphorizo) means ‘to mark off by boundaries to set apart for a special purpose.’ It carries the idea of separation to a specified assignment. Paul understood that he had been set apart by God for the specific purpose of spreading the gospel far and wide. This was his God-chosen mission upon the earth. He had been sovereignly separated to the propagation of the gospel. By these three designations – slave, apostle, and one set apart – Paul is wanting there to be no misunderstanding about who he is. He is merely a messenger of the gospel, not its author. He is simply a servant of the gospel, not its originator. He has been dispatched by God to bring this saving message with greater clarity to his readers. But let there be no mistake. He is only the messenger of a much higher authority, God Himself. In turn, his readers must receive the truths that follow as from the throne of God. II. The Source of the Gospel (1:1) Second, we note the source of the gospel at the end of verse one. Who is the author of the gospel? From whom does it come? Paul says in verse one, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart…” Paul wants us to know that he is only the messenger. He is not the author, but simply one who has been sent as an ambassador to bring this gospel message. It does not originate with him. When Paul says at the end of verse one, “for the gospel of God,” it means not only that the gospel is about God – meaning His holiness, His love, His wrath, and His righteousness – but also that this gospel is God’s gospel. It has come down from the throne of God above. It means that God is the source of the gospel. He is the author of the gospel. He is the architect of the gospel. The gospel is God’s solution to our dilemma. It is the good news that has come down from the infinite genius of God.  If we divided up into small groups today and met nonstop for the next ten thousand years brainstorming a plan of salvation, we could have never designed the gospel message. It could have only come from the sheer infinite genius of God. Who but God could have designed this gospel message? That God would send the second Person of the Trinity, His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to rescue us. Who but God could have designed this? That He would be born of a virgin. That He would live under the Law, and with perfect obedience keep the Law that you and I have broken day after day. Who but God could have designed this? That He would go to the cross and be lifted up to die. That all of the sins of all the people who would ever believe in Him would be transferred to Him, and that He would bear our sins in His body upon the cross. Who but God could have designed this? That He would be taken down from the cross, buried in a borrowed tomb, and on the third day be raised from the dead. That He would ascend on high and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Who but God could have designed this gospel message? No denomination could have designed it. No church could have crafted it. No seminary could have scripted it. No board of elders could have ever come up with this plan. Only God could have come up with this solution. The source of the gospel is God Himself. That is why to receive the gospel is to receive God Himself. To reject the gospel is to reject God Himself. God is the source of the gospel. That is why there is a zero tolerance policy for any tampering with the gospel. No church, theologian, or pastor may add to the gospel, take away from the gospel, or try to tweak the gospel. This is the gospel of God. III. The Meaning of the Gospel (1:1e) Third, we note the meaning of the gospel. We see it at the end of verse one, “the gospel of God.” It begs that we ask the question: What does the word “gospel” mean? “Gospel” a compound word in the original language, meaning two words that come together as one. It is the Greek word euangelion. The eu at the beginning means ‘good.’ Someone might give a eulogy, which means ‘a good word,’ at a funeral. You can hear the Greek word angelion in the word angel, meaning a ‘messenger or message.’ When those two Greek words come together, the word gospel simply means ‘the good news, the good tidings, the glad tidings.’ The gospel is the good news of salvation through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to rescue us from the wrath of God. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” God is angry with the wicked every day. It is through the gospel that sinners like you and I are delivered and rescued from the wrath of God. You will never hear anything better than the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not just good news, it is the greatest news that will ever enter your ear and come into your heart. Martin Luther said: Evangel (gospel) is a Greek word that means a good message, good tidings, good news, a good report, which one sings and tells with rejoicing. So when David overcame the huge Goliath, the good report and the comforting news came among the Jewish people that their terrible enemy had been slain, that they had been delivered, and that joy and peace had been given to them; and they sang and danced and were happy because of this. So the evangel (gospel) of God…is also a good message and report. The gospel has resounded in all the world, proclaimed by the apostles. It tells of a true David who fought with sin, death, and the devil, overcame them, and thereby delivered, without any merit of their own, all those who were held captive in sin, were plagued by death, and were overpowered by the devil. He made them righteous, gave them life, and saved them. This is what the gospel means. It is the good news of our deliverance from destruction, of our rescue from wrath. It should cause our hearts to rise up with joy and bless the name of the Lord. IV. The Exclusivity of the Gospel (1:1) Fourth, we note the exclusivity of the gospel. As we look at verse one, note the last four words: “the gospel of God.” You see the definite article, “the” in “the gospel.” This speaks to the exclusivity of the gospel, meaning there is no other gospel. The gospel is never couched as “a” gospel, as if it is one of many paths that lead up the proverbial mountain that leads to God. There is only one gospel, and it is God’s gospel, which He has revealed to us. The definite article “the” is not in the original language here, but neither is the “a.” It is to be understood that “the” is implied by the reader. It is found in verse nine and verse sixteen. Every time the gospel is mentioned, it is mentioned as “the gospel,” implying the one and only gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:1 refers to that which is of first importance, “the gospel.” Galatians 1:7 speaks of “the gospel.” The only time “a gospel” is ever mentioned in the Bible, it refers to “a gospel contrary to what you received” (Galatians 1:9), for which men who preach or believe it will be eternally damned. “The gospel” is spoken of in Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 6:15, Philippians 1:5,7,12,16,27, Colossians 1:5,23, 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:10, etc. and etc. It runs rampant throughout the entire New Testament. The gospel is always presented as the one and only gospel. We need to understand that there are many roads to hell, but only one road to heaven. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Every self-conceived way to God, whether by human religion, wisdom, or morality, leads to eternal death. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus claimed an exclusive monopoly on how to come to God. Peter, as he stood before the Sanhedrin, said “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” There are as many mediators as there are gods. There is one God and, therefore, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. We live today in a world that strives for political correctness, that is tolerant of every religion as having some part of the truth. It is claimed that every religion makes some contribution to the overall body of knowledge about God. The fundamental core value today is tolerance. I fear this spirit of the age has crept into the church. It has lulled us to sleep into accepting this worldly philosophy. Everybody is right, it seems, and nobody is wrong. Let me be crystal clear. There is only one way to God – not two or three ways –  and that one way is through Jesus Christ the Lord. Every other religion is a path to hell. We are not just dogmatic about this, we are bull-dogmatic about this. I trust that your faith is in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for there is salvation in no other name. V. The Antiquity of the Gospel (1:2) Fifth, as we come to verse two, I want you to note the antiquity of the gospel. What Paul wants us to know is that the gospel is not a trendy new message that has only recently come onto the scene in New Testament times. Paul asserts that the gospel is rooted and grounded in the fertile soil of Old Testament Scripture. The gospel is as old as the world itself, even longer. “Promised Beforehand” In verse two, Paul begins, “which He [God the Father] promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.” The impersonal pronoun “which’ refers to the gospel. This means that the gospel was promised long ago from the beginning of time, throughout all the centuries of Old Testament history. This gospel was prophesied and promised throughout the pages of the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. It was announced to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. It was believed by Abraham when he reached the promised land. It was received by Moses at Mount Sinai. It was pictured by the Levitical sacrificial system in the Law. It was proclaimed by the prophets of Israel. This is not a new way to heaven that has recently appeared in New Testament times. Paul wants us to know that the gospel is not ‘Plan B’ in the New Testament. It is not an addendum added to the first testament. There is only one way of salvation in both the Old and New Testaments, and it is exactly the same gospel message. Anytime anyone anywhere has been saved, from the dawn of human history to the last of the elect to be saved, it has always been by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. There was not an Old Testament way of salvation that is different from the New Testament way of salvation. There was not an Old Testament path to God, and now there is a New Testament path to God. There was not a Jewish gospel in the Old Testament, and now a Gentile gospel in the New Testament. No, there was and is and will always be only one way of salvation, which was “promised beforehand through His prophets.” There is no other way to be right with God. “By Faith Alone” Whether a person lived in Old Testament times looking ahead to the coming of Christ, or whether they are in New Testament times looking back to the coming of Christ, we are all saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It is all about Christ. That is why, when Paul comes to the end of this prologue in verse 17, he affirms salvation is by faith alone by saying, “as it is written.” He then quotes the prophet in Habakkuk 2:4, “but the righteous man shall live by faith.” By this Old Testament citation, Paul is driving home this truth deep into our minds. The Old Testament gospel is the New Testament gospel, which is the only gospel. Later in Romans, Paul will establish the doctrine of justification by faith alone by using two Old Testament figures, Abraham and David. He is like an attorney in a courtroom who calls to the witness stand Abraham and David and submits them as evidence for our understanding of how we may be made right with God in New Testament times. The point that Paul makes is that the way that Abraham was saved is the way David was saved, and it is the same way that you and I are made right with God. It is through this one gospel, whether a person lives before or after the cross. This is why it is so critically important that we get the gospel right, because there is no other rope to grab hold in order to be saved from perishing. There is no other way that leads to God. There is no other access to the throne of grace, but through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Live with Eternal Purpose As Paul was set apart for the gospel, we too are separated from the mundane things of this world unto the eternal realities that surround the gospel. We must live to make Jesus Christ known, whether in our families, workplaces, or ministries. This is why God has left us here after He saved us. It is to be His witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must commit ourselves to spreading the gospel by every means possible. The story is told about Mr. Armour, who was the head of the Armor Meat Packing empire. He was a man well-known to be successful in his enormous business. One day, he boarded a plane, and a young salesman sat next to him. To make conversation, the upstart businessman introduced himself to Mr. Armour, not realizing to whom he was speaking. “And what do you do for a living?,” he asked. The famous, older Mr. Armour replied, “My name is Mr. Armour. My job is to tell other people about Jesus Christ. I just pack a little meat on the side.” The same is true for you and me. We may teach school or practice law. We may raise cattle or drive a truck. But our business is to tell others about Jesus Christ. © 2019 Steven J. Lawson

Getting the Gospel Right: An Interview with R.C. Sproul

OnePassion Ministries April 23, 2015

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📷 In the January/February 2015 issue of Expositor magazine, Dr. Steven Lawson had the opportunity to sit with R.C. Sproul for a candid interview about the gospel and preaching. Below is the transcript that appeared in the magazine. R. C. SPROUL is founder and president of Ligonier Ministries in Orlando, FL. Dr. Sproul’s teaching can be heard on the program Renewing Your Mind, which is broadcast on hundreds of radio outlets in the United States and in more than 40 countries worldwide. He is executive editor of Tabletalk magazine and general editor of The Reformation Study Bible. Dr. Sproul currently serves as the director of Serve International and co-pastor of Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, FL. He is the author of more than eighty books and scores of articles. Dr. Sproul has produced more than 300 lecture series and has recorded more than 80 video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living. You have written a book entitled Getting the Gospel Right. Perhaps the best place to begin is, what is the gospel? There is probably no term used more loosely in the church than the term “gospel.” You hear preachers say all the time that they are “ministers of the gospel” or that they “preach the gospel,” but many times they have no idea what the gospel actually is! During my years teaching seminary, one of the D.Min. classes I taught was on justification. What I would characteristically do is put the word “gospel” on the blackboard and ask the ministers who were present to give me a definition of the gospel. They would say things like, “getting peace in your life,” “being reconciled with God,” “gaining purpose and self-esteem.” All of those things were true to a degree, but none of them qualified as a definition for the gospel. Several years ago, Michael Horton conducted a survey of one hundred people at a convention for Christian Booksellers asking the question, “What is the gospel?”. These were people who were seriously involved with Christian education. Yet when their responses were evaluated, only one adequate answer was provided. To answer the question “What is the gospel?” is rather simple. The gospel is Jesus, the person and work of Christ—who Jesus is and what He did. The gospel also describes how the benefits of His ministry are subjectively appropriated. That’s why the doctrine of justification by faith alone was so pivotal at the time of the Reformation, because it wasn’t a secondary matter but rather had to do with the gospel. Essentially, the pressing question that the gospel answers is, “How can an unjust person become just in the sight of God?” Another way of approaching the question is to examine the apostolic preaching, particularly the preaching in the book of Acts. Historically, when speaking of the gospel message, we have made a distinction between the kerygma and the didache. The kerygma was the proclamation the early church made to the world, and once people respond to that they receive the didache, or the teaching. When Paul went to Athens and preached, he didn’t have time to start with Abraham and go all the way through Malachi. Yet he was able to present in a nutshell the message of the truth of God and of the history of redemption, which culminates in the person and work of Christ. If we analyze that kerygma found in the book of Acts, we will see the message that this Man was born of woman, of the seed of David, according to the Scriptures. He lived a sinless life, made a sacrificial atonement on the cross, was raised by God from the dead for our justification, and ascended into heaven to the right hand of God, where He is crowned Lord of lords and King of kings, from where He will return and judge the world. The benefits of this is reconciliation, forgiveness of sins, and justification, from which we get peace with God, which is received by faith alone. That is the gospel. One of the biggest problems we face in the church is preaching to people who are unconverted but think they are converted. They have made a profession of faith by walking an aisle, raising their hand, or signed a prayer card, and they think because they have done those things they have been truly converted. Just because we profess to have faith doesn’t mean that we have it. I think can of two classical sermons that address this same theme. One was from Gilbert Tennent, “The Danger of the Unconverted Clergy,” and the other was from Jonathan Edwards, “A Warning to Professors.” This was Jesus’ great warning: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Matt 15:8). He ends the Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Mt 7:21–23). For me, it is liberating to be a pastor in a single location for a long time, because that allows me to preaching verse-by-verse through whole books of the Bible. I don’t have to lay awake thinking what verse I should preach; the text dictates that for me. Preachers are accountable to preach the whole counsel of God. So, if I’m not bound to preaching through books, I can intentionally or unintentionally fall into the “hobby-horse syndrome” of preaching only the texts I like or want to preach. But when the preacher is dedicated to verse-by-verse exposition, he can’t avoid preaching the whole counsel of God. Within expository preaching more broadly, I have found it tremendously encouraging to preach through the four Gospels. I enjoy this so much, because it is an excellent opportunity to tell people as much as you can about Jesus. Every single night, I pray for an awakening in our church. Getting the Gospels in front of people as much as possible allows their minds to be filled with Christ, that the Spirit might bring them all to a saving knowledge of Christ. What are some of the distinguishing marks of preaching with a desire for conversions? Sunday morning worship is primarily for the believer. I don’t establish our worship on the needs or desires of “seekers,” because no one seeks after God by his or her own initiative. Instead, I establish our worship for believers. But, at the same time, as Augustine said, the church is always a “mixed body.” This idea did not originate with Augustine but with Jesus. So, we know that on any given Sunday morning, the odds are great that there are going to be unbelievers present at our worship service. On the one hand, if you preach an evangelistic sermon every Sunday morning and focus your attention on the unbeliever exclusively, you have missed the point of corporate worship. The church is there to grow into the maturity of Christ through learning from the expounded Word of God. On the other hand, at the same time that my primary focus is on expounding the text for the benefit of the believer, I am also acutely conscious that there are unbelievers present. As a result, I almost always make an evangelistic appeal to unbelievers, letting them know that if they died tonight they would wake up in hell. There are many ways to make evangelistic appeals without spending the primary time doing so. I do not believe I personally have an extraordinary anointing of God during my preaching like some men such as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and others experienced during their ministries. Therefore, I struggle with the inadequacy of my preaching. This struggle is exacerbated by not seeing the kind of response that I would love to see in response to the Word of God. That is why I pray all the time that God will move the people listening to the preaching of His Word. Even though I often feel very inadequate, I am fully and completely confident in the power of the Word. The Word is not going to return void. When I preach the Scriptures, week in and week out, in an expository manner, people may not remember what I preached on several weeks ago, but there is still a cumulative effect that is building up in their lives. The power of the Word is what changes and transforms the hearts of people. As Spurgeon ascended to his pulpit, he would repeat over and over to himself, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the Holy Spirit.” As I am walking up into the pulpit of my own church, I remind myself, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord” (Ps 121:1). God has revealed Himself in His Word, and there is no substitute for that. I am reminded of the well-known illustration of Vince Lombardi picking up a football before his players and saying to them, “This is a football, am I going too fast for you?” Before today’s modern preachers, I would pick up a Bible and say to them, “This is a Bible, am I going too fast for you?” In other words, when we start anywhere other than with the Bible, we go every way but the right way. I am not providing a technique for success. This is the job and duty of the preacher of the Word of God. Forget your entertainment and other gimmicks, and preach the whole counsel of God! All biblical preaching puts Christ at the center of the message. Why do we say the message we preach is an exclusive message? I cannot imagine an affirmation that would meet with more resistance from contemporary Westerners than the one Paul makes in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This declaration is narrow and downright un-American. We have been inundated with the viewpoint that there are many roads that lead to heaven, and that God is not so narrow that He requires a strict allegiance to one way of salvation. If anything strikes at the root of the tree of pluralism and relativism, it is a claim of exclusivity to one religion or one God. A statement such as Paul makes in his first letter to Timothy is seen as bigoted and hateful. Paul, of course, is not expressing bigotry or hatefulness at all. He is simply expressing the truth of God, the same truth Jesus taught when He said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Paul is affirming the uniqueness of Christ, specifically in His role as Mediator. A mediator is a go-between, someone who stands between two parties that are estranged or involved in some kind of dispute. Paul declares that Christ is the only Mediator between two parties at odds with one another—God and men. Why, then, does Paul say there is only one mediator between God and man? I believe we have to understand the uniqueness of Christ’s mediation in terms of the uniqueness of His person. He is the God-man, that is, God incarnate. In order to bring about reconciliation between God and humanity, the second person of the Trinity united to Himself a human nature. Thus, Jesus has the qualifications to bring about reconciliation—He represents both sides perfectly. People ask me, “Why is God so narrow that He provided only one Savior?” I do not think that is the question we ought to ask. Instead, we should ask, “Why did God give us any way at all to be saved?” In other words, why did He not just condemn us all? Why did God, in His grace, give to us a Mediator to stand in our place, to receive the judgment we deserve, and to give to us the righteousness we desperately need? The astonishing thing is not that He did not do it in multiple ways, but that He did it in even one way. Notice that Paul, in declaring the uniqueness of Christ, also affirms the uniqueness of God: “There is one God.” This divine uniqueness was declared throughout the Old Testament; the very first commandment was a commandment of exclusivity: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3). So, Paul brings all these strands together. There is only one God, and God has only one Son, and the Son is the sole Mediator between God and mankind. In thinking through the narrow terms of the exclusivity of Christ and of the Christian faith, let me ask you to think through the ramifications of putting leaders of other religions on the same level as Christ. In one sense, there is no greater insult to Christ than to mention Him in the same breath as Muhammad, for example. If Christ is who He claims to be, no one else can be a way to God. Furthermore, if it is true that there are many ways to God, Christ is not one of them, because there is no reason one of many ways to God would declare to the world that He is the only way to God. There is much discussion today about the role of the law in preaching the gospel. What is the relationship between the law and the Christian? “O how I love your law!” (Ps 119:97). What a strange statement of affection. Why would anyone direct his love toward the law of God? The law limits our choices, restricts our freedom, torments our consciences, and pushes us down with a mighty weight that cannot be overcome, and yet the psalmist declares his affection for the law in passionate terms. He calls the law sweeter than honey to his mouth (Ps 119:3). What is it about the law of God that can provoke such affection? In the first place, the law is not an abstract set of rules and regulations. The law reflects the will of the Lawgiver, and in that regard it is intensely personal. The law reflects to the creature the perfect will of the Creator and at the same time reveals the character of that Being whose law it is. When the psalmist speaks of his affection for the law, he makes no division between the law of God and the Word of God. Just as the Christian loves the Word of God, so we ought to love the law of God, for the Word of God is indeed the law of God. The second reason why the psalmist has such a positive view of the law is that the law, by revealing God’s character, exposes our fallenness. It is the mirror that reflects our own images—warts and all—and becomes the pedagogue, the schoolmaster that drives us to Christ. The law does not drive us out of the kingdom but rather ushers us into the kingdom by directing us to the One who alone is able to fulfill its demands. The most wonderful function of the law, however, is that it shows us what is pleasing to God. The godly man is the one who meditates on the law day and night (Ps 1:2), and he does so because he finds his delight therein. By delighting in the precepts of God, he becomes like a tree planted by rivers of living water, bringing forth its fruit in its season (Ps 1:3). Our Lord said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15), but we cannot show that love for Him unless we know what the commandments are. A knowledge of the law of God gives to us the pattern of loving obedience. If we love the Lord, we must also love His law. To love God and despise His law is a contradiction that must never be the profile of the Christian. God gives us His law not to take away our joy, but rather that our joy may be full. His law is never given in a context of meanness, but in the context of His love. We love the law of God because God loves His law and because that law is altogether lovely. As expositors, we are responsible for preaching and presenting the message of the gospel. Our responsibility stops there, for it is the work of the Holy Spirit to draw the soul to Christ. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation? The monergistic work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit is an immediate work. It is immediate with respect to time, and it is immediate in the sense that it operates without intervening means. The Holy Spirit does not use something apart from His own power to bring a person from spiritual death to spiritual life, and when that work is accomplished, it is accomplished instantaneously.Here we have a classic either/or situation. A person is either born again, or he is not born again. There is no nine-month gestation period with respect to this birth. No one is partly regenerate, or almost regenerate. When the Spirit changes the disposition of the human soul, He does it instantly. A person may not be aware of this internal work accomplished by God for some time after it has actually occurred. But though our awareness of it may be gradual, the action of it is instantaneous. When the Holy Spirit regenerates a human soul, the purpose of that regeneration is to bring that person to saving faith in Jesus Christ. That purpose is effected and accomplished as God purposes in the intervention. Regeneration is more than giving a person the possibility of having faith; it gives him the certainty of possessing that saving faith. The result of our regeneration is first of all faith, which then results in justification and adoption into the family of God. Nobody is born into this world a child of the family of God. We are born as children of wrath. The only way we enter into the family of God is by adoption, and that adoption occurs when we are united to God’s only begotten Son by faith. When by faith we are united with Christ, we are then adopted into that family of whom Christ is the firstborn. The result of our regeneration is first of all faith, which then results in justification and adoption into the family of God. Nobody is born into this world a child of the family of God. We are born as children of wrath. The only way we enter into the family of God is by adoption, and that adoption occurs when we are united to God’s only begotten Son by faith. When by faith we are united with Christ, we are then adopted into that family of whom Christ is the firstborn. Regeneration therefore involves a new genesis, a new beginning, a new birth. It is that birth by which we enter into the family of God by adoption.