The Righteousness of God

Paul, an Apostle of Christ

(Romans 1:1-7)

Introduction:

This morning we begin a study in the book of Romans. The overall title of our series of lessons will be . . . and the title of our first lesson is . . . I have taught through the book of Romans once before, but the turnover in this class has been so great we are going to go through the book once more. One of the reasons we are going to do so is that of all the books of the Bible there are none more important than this magnificent letter of Paul’s to the church at Rome.

We believe, of course, that every word of the Bible is God’s Word, right? We believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible, meaning that every word is inspired by God. And so it is all of the utmost importance. But to say, for instance, that the little book of Obadiah in the OT is just as important as the books of Genesis, the Gospel of John, or the Epistle to the Romans is to just be speaking nonsense.The church has always considered this marvelous work of Paul’s as being the centerpiece of NT theology.

R. Kent Hughes wrote in his commentary on Romans that no reasonable person would dispute that the book of Romans is one of the most powerful and influential books ever written. Hughes went on to write that the epistle of Paul to the Romans has been the written force behind some of the most significant conversions of church history. St. Augustine, the most brilliant theologian of the early centuries, came to conviction of sin and salvation after reading some verses from the thirteenth chapter. Martin Luther recovered the doctrine of salvation by faith from his study of Romans 1:17 and went on to lead the Protestant Reformation. While listening to the reading of Luther’s preface to the book of Romans, John Wesley felt his heart “strangely warmed” in conversion and became the catalyst of the great evangelical revival of the eighteenth century. John Bunyan was so inspired as he studied the great themes of Romans in the Bedford jail that he wrote the immortal Pilgrim’s Progress. In more recent times, while we may not always agree with his theology, Karl Barth’s arguments from the book of Romans devastated liberal Christianity. We, of course, use the Roman Road in evangelization, don’t we? It is a powerful witnessing tool.

And on a personal note, let me add that the book of Romans has powerfully affected my own life as well. It was through my reading of chapter eight that God impressed upon me the reality, that even though I am a sinner, and even though I have still sinned after my conversion, God will never discard me. I will always remain His child. But at one point, shortly after I was saved, I had come to doubt the reality of that salvation. I was struggling in many areas: I was doubting everything–from the truth of my own conversion all the way up to the truth of the Gospel itself. I was actually living in misery! My life, in some ways, was emotionally far worse than before I was saved. But one night God had mercy on me. As I was reading chapter eight of Romans for the umpteenth time, God spoke to me, quieting my fears, and began the process of relieving my doubts. From verse 28 through to verse 39 is Paul’s awesome affirmation of the security of the believer. Romans 8:31-33 (KJV)

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

That last sentence is significant, isn’t it? It is God that justifieth. Salvation is God’s business, isn’t it? He has chosen and called a group of people from every tribe and nation to be His own. And so as we study this letter verse by verse allow the words to soak into the fabric of your soul. God will speak to you through the medium of His Word, and He will wonderfully speak to you through the power of the book of Romans!

I. Introduction (Romans 1:1-7)

1. Paul the Servant and Apostle (v. 1)

(1 The passage we just read is considered to be Paul’s introduction. It is somewhat longer than is customary for Paul, but it pretty much follows the pattern for letter writing in NT times. F.F. Bruce, the great English Bible scholar wrote that of all the New Testament authors, Paul is the one who has stamped his own personality most unmistakably on his writings. And Paul did write with an unmistakable style, didn’t he? One of the problems many of us have with writing letters is our inability to express ourselves in written form. Many of us are simply not able to give others an accurate portrait not only of ourselves and who we are, but we are unable to express complex ideas in our writing either. We seem to be better equipped to direct conversation than letter writing. But Paul wore his true feelings on his sleeve, he was able to express those feelings in the words he wrote in his letters, even in a letter that is as doctrinally centered as Romans is. There is often an unnaturalness about the letters we write, isn’t there? While Paul wrote with clarity and deep brilliance, but he also wrote in a style that revealed much about him and his relationship with the Christ who saved him, and revealed much about his relationships with other people as well.

And there was a pattern for letter writing in the Greco-Roman world of the first century AD. That pattern roughly consisted of three main parts: The introduction; the main body of the letter; and the conclusion. Within the introduction the writer would intoduce himself, identifying himself as the sender of the letter and then identify his intended reader, or readers. And then the writer would extend his greetings to those readers. In the introduction he might also express a wish that the intended reader be in good health, following which he may offer a prayer and thanksgiving on behalf of his intended readers. Following the introduction you would find the main body of the letter, where the author would deal with the matter for which he is writing. This, of course, could be anything, ranging from the normal, everyday, matters of living to the sublime thoughts of the Apostle Paul in the NT writings.

And nowhere is the thought and theology of Paul more sublime than here in Romans. In the preface to Romans in one of my Bibles, the editors wrote this about Romans: The Epistle to the Romans should be seen as the God-given key to understanding all Scripture, since it is here Paul brings together all the Bible’s greatest themes–sin, law, judgement, human destiny, faith, works, grace, justification, sanctification, election, the plan of salvation, the Christian hope, the nature and life of the church, the place of Jew and non-Jew in the purposes of God, the philosophy of church and world history, the meaning and message of the OT, the duties of Christian citizenship, and the principles of personal godliness and morality. From the vantage point given by Romans, the whole landscape of the Bible is open to view, and the relation of the parts to the whole becomes plain. Therefore, the editors went on to finish, the study of Romans is vitally necessary for the spiritual health and insight of the Christian. And following the body of all ancient letters, what that letter was written for, of course, would be the conclusion, where the letter writer, as Paul often did, would send greetings to and greetings from people known to both the writer and the reader. That is the basic pattern that Paul follows in this epistle to the Romans. So, let’s look back at verse one and see just how Paul introduces himself to his Roman readers. Look at your Bibles, verse one.

(2 We have some insight in this very first verse as to how the great Apostle views himself, don’t we? Paul says of himself that he is servant. And that word, as many of us already know, means bondservent, slave. And it is a well-known fact that how a person views himself will often determine how that person will act. There was a story about a second-grader somewhere in Tennessee who submitted an essay entitled “My Face” to his teacher. It read: “My face has two brown eyes. It has a nose and two cheeks. And two ears and a mouth. I like my face. I’m glad my face is just like it is. It is not bad, it is not good, but just right.” That is terrific advice for every person who is dissatisfied with their looks, isn’t it? Plastic surgery is a booming business in America. But out of the mouth of babes comes solid advice and a wonderful attitude that will go a long way toward making us content with what God has given us. Philippians 4:11-13 (KJV)

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 † I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Paul was content in whatever circumstances he found himself in. He was content because of how he viewed himself, wasn’t he?

(3 And Paul viewed himself as a slave of the risen Christ, didn’t he? A slave called to be an apostle of that risen Christ. It is in that one sentence that Paul captures the essence of his self-perception. The term Paul used to describe his relationship to Jesus was one that was held in comtempt by the Roman world. He could have introduced himself as “Paul, an eminent theologian, master of the Old Testament Scriptures, front-line warrior, brilliant of intellect,” but instead he chooses slave. And this serves two purposes in relating to his readers how Paul thinks of himself. To the Romans, as I said, this was a lowly, servile term, one that held no honor at all. But to a believing Jew, not necessarily a proud Pharisee, though, and when applied to one’s relationship to God , it was held in high honor. Paul has both views in mind.

(4 He is a slave and he is an apostle, a messenger. There continues to be some confusion over the term apostle. As simply one word among many, it just means a messenger, doesn’t it? But it also means a messenger that is sent out, and one sent out with specifically with a message from someone other than himself.

(5 And on a much narrower track it specifically applies to one of only twelve men who were sent out by the Lord Jesus Christ to take His message of the Gospel to a lost world. They were the original men commisioned by the Lord Himself to be the foundation of the church itself. Elsewhere, in Ephesians Paul wrote this of the Apostles, Ephesians 2:20 (KJV)

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; What is being built? The context of this verse from Ephesians is the church. The church is built upon the words of the Apostles, words given to them by the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ Himself. And so Paul is saying that he is a slave and an apostle of Jesus, right?

(6 And he has been separated, set apart, for the Gospel. This doesn’t just mean the preaching of the Gospel, although it certainly includes preaching. Leon Morris wrote in his commentary it means the very living of the Gospel. He went on to write being set apart for the Gospel, “means to be a gospel man, to live the gospel. Preaching is important, but then so is living. Paul’s call was to a way of life as well as to a task of preaching” (40). In this general sense, every Christian is “set apart for the gospel of God.”

(7 This includes you and I in here, doesn’t it? Paul is saying something very simple and basic here, isn’t he? He is saying something that we all need to take to heart. He is saying our life must match up with our words. He is saying that where the rubber meets the road in our lives, there must be a difference in our lives. We must look and sound different from the world. If we are going to preach against sin, if we are going to preach the good news of the Gospel of forgiveness, we must do everything possible to root out sin in our own lives, right?

(8 And you know what? Sometimes we are so harsh in our preaching against sin in others that we conveniently overlook the sin in our own lives. The Pharisess were masters at that, weren’t they? And Jesus was far gentler with repentant sinners than he ever was with the self-righteous crowd, wasn’t He? The grace of God is so powerful it will cover the worst of sins, but first we must admit that we are sinners. And that is a part of what Paul is doing in the first section of Romans. In masterful and penetrating language, Paul leaves no stone unturned in including all under the condemnation of God. We are all sinners! Jew and Gentile! Slave and free! Man and woman! All are sinners!

2. Paul, the Preacher (Romans 1:2-4)

(1 But of course, even though Paul lived the Gospel of grace out in his daily life, he did consider himself to be a preacher, didn’t he? Everywhere he went he preached the good news! And I think it is important we understand this point: Paul considered the Gospel to be an extension of the ancient OT message. Although this is the New Covenant, it proceeds from the Old Covenant. Look at your Bibles, verses 2-4.

(2 The OT is full of types and shadows and even outright prophecies of Jesus Christ, isn’t it? Much of the Messiah was revealed in the pages of the OT. Who Jesus’ mother would be? Mary wasn’t named, but Isaiah told us she would be a virgin. Of what house he was to be from? The house of David. Where would he be born? Bethlehem. What name would he be given? Immanuel. What death would be his? The cross—piercing the body without breaking his bones. Where? At Jerusalem, outside the city. Paul’s task was rooted as far back as the Garden of Eden, the patriarchs, and the prophets.

(3 You remember when Adam and Eve fell, when they had disobeyed God, a Redeemer was promised? Turn quickly back to Genesis with me and let’s look at the record of the disastrous fall of man. Turn to Genesis 3:1-6; 8-15. Sometimes it is helpful for us to go back to beginning, isn’t it? It was because of this singular event recorded for us in Genesis that Jesus came into the world to die, didn’t He? Look at your Bibles, Gen. 3:1-6; 8-15. What is the penalty for sin? What is the penalty for disobeying God? Look back to Gen. 2:15-17. What is the penalty for sin? Death! Eternal separation from God! Romans 6:23 (KJV)

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That is why Jesus came and died. That is why the Gospel is such good news, isn’t it?

(4 After this initial promise of a Messiah in the Garden came the promise made to Abraham. God began the process of separating a people out from the mass of humanity, a people through whom He would bless all humanity with the Redeemer that He promised back in the Garden. Go forward with me to Gen. 12:1-3. In this passage we have the great Abrahamic Covenant, don’t we? Look at your Bibles. It was through Abraham and his son Isaac that the children of Israel sprang. God’s chosen people were chosen, not so they could be placed on a pedestal, a place higher than the rest of mankind, but they were chosen so that they could be the vessel through which God could send His only Son. And if Christ were to literally come in the flesh, if God was to enter into the stream of human history, He had to enter somewhere, someplace, and through some particular people. It was the Jews, the physical descendants of Abraham, who were God’s chosen vessels for His Messiah. And they were also the vessel through which God would send His Holy Law and His prophets. The Law and the prophets, all of Scripture points forward in time to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ! Go back to Romans with me.

(5 Notice in verse three, that Paul writes, not only that the Gospel is a fulfillment of the promises made by God through the prophets, but that Jesus, in His Incarnation, is of the seed of David. Who is David? He was Israel’s greatest king, wasn’t he? And Jesus was descended from the line of King David. And as you put verses 3 and 4 together you have a clear teaching of the humanity and the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t you? And that is the fundamental glory of the Faith, isn’t it? Read verses three and four again.

(6 As I have said repeatedly in our studies, the truly stunning reality of the Christian faith is not to be found in the miracles of our Lord; neither is it to be found in His sinless life, His death on the cross for our sin, nor is it to be found in His glorious resurrection. No, the truly stunning reality of our faith is to be found in the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, this man and no other, born of virgin, born under the Law of Moses, this man is God! If that is true, and the Bible testifies to that truth, then all the other wonders of the Christian faith can be easily accepted, can’t they?

(7 Paul declared that he was a slave of Christ, a messenger of Christ, an Apostle, and he declared he was separated to the Gospel, he lived it, he breathed it, and he preached it! Paul preached Christ crucified and Him resurrected, didn’t he? He preached Christ as the Son of the living God! There was a story told of a Frenchman in the 19th century going to the famous French diplomat, Talleyrand, and complaining that a new religion of his—one he considered a great improvement over Christianity—had failed to catch on with the people. He asked Talleyrand for some suggestions. Talleyrand dryly said, “M. Lepeau, to insure success for your new religion, all you need do is have yourself crucified and then rise from the dead on the third day!” The resurrection is the bedrock of the Faith, isn’t it? And the Atonement and the resurrection proceed from the promises of God, and from the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was, is, and ever will be very God of very God! He is the Word made flesh, isn’t He? John 1:14 (KJV)

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

(8 It is important that we keep these two truths in mind, isn’t it? And while Paul was preaching something new come into the world, it was not disconnected from the promises made by God in the Old Covenant, was it? And all those promises from the OT were fulfilled in the Person, work, death, and resurrection of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ! God in the flesh!

(9 And notice very carefully the phrase according to the spirit of holiness found in verse 4. What does that mean? Jesus lived a godly and perfect life, didn’t He? What does that mean for us? You know often when preachers and Bible teachers talk about the holiness of Jesus, and when they talk about all that Jesus endured at the cross, and all the humilation He suffered there from the outpouring of God’s wrath on Him for our sin, and also the humiliation He suffered just prior to His crucifixion with the mocking soldiers slapping Him, spitting on Him, and crowning Him with crown of thorns, there is an attitude that creeps into our thinking that says, “Look, I know Jesus did all that, but He was God, and I ain’t ! He could endure all that stuff because He was way more able than me to do so!” Have you ever thought that?

(10 When we are taught the really difficult lessons from Scripture on submission and obedience we are always told to look to Jesus, aren’t we? We are told to look at all that He endured for us. He is our model, we are told, and rightly so. But often after we do, we simply turn away and say to ourselves, “That was Jesus, I can’t do it!” And we forget that not only was Jesus fully God, but He was also fully man as well, wasn’t He?

(11 We do the same when we think about the holiness of Jesus Christ too. We think, of course He was holy, He was God, He should have been holy! Right? Have you ever thought that? But it isn’t that simple, is it? Because the Bible also tells us that He was tempted just as we are. The temptation to sin for Jesus was just as strong as the temptation to sin is in us! And the Bible also tells us He was tempted in the same way that we are tempted. He knows our pain and sorrow; He knows how we feel when we are tempted to sin. Hebrews 4:14-16 (KJV)

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus is the perfect High Priest for us, isn’t He? He not only makes constant intercession for us before a holy God, but He doesn’t have to bring a sacrifice with Him when He does, He is the sacrifice, isn’t He?

(12 And what Paul is telling us here in our verse from Romans is that, yes, Jesus Christ was holy and yes, He was God and yes, He made the perfect sacrifice for sin and yes, He rose in glory the third day! Yes, all that is true! But He was also a man, a man subject to all the afflictions that you and I are subject to in this fallen world. And as Paul makes his case for the sinfulness of all men and women here in the opening chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, he always comes back to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Everything is written to point us to the one and only Saviour that God will ever send.

(13 And when we get to some of the later chapters of Romans we will see that the holiness that only Jesus possesses has been given to us as well. Although, as we move along in our Christian lives, we should increasingly live a life of righteousness and holiness, we will never live one perfection, will we? And perfect righteousness is precisely what it takes for us to enter into God’s holy presence. Habakkuk 1:13 (KJV)

13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquitye : wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? We have already looked at the beginning of sin in humanity, haven’t we? That one act alone forever tainted God’s good creation, didn’t it? You see, most of us have an inadequate view of sin, don’t we? Most of us, truth be told, have an attitude about God and His relation to wrongdoing that has little or nothing to do with what Scripture teaches. God is so serious about sin that He pronounced a death sentence on it! And most of us, even in churches, vainly imagine that God is some kindly, silver-haired old grandpa who will simply pat us on our pointy little heads and say, “There, there, it’s ok, you couldn’t help it, could you? I forgive you!”

(14 Listen, listen, the only reason God will ever forgive anyone for their wrongdoing is because He has already poured His wrath for our sin out on the sinless shoulders of His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! Otherwise, people, we all burn! That’s right! God will never overlook your sin! Because God is holy and just, the righteous judge must punish wrongdoing. Just like a human judge in a courtroom must pronounce the proper sentence against the guilty, so must God pronounce the proper sentence on a guilty humanity! Because we are all guilty, aren’t we? Is there anyone in this room who imagines they have never done anything wrong? Of course, the skeptic says! That is just human nature! And that is precisely the point, isn’t it? We are in a whole lot of trouble! Because the punishment for sin is death, isn’t it? Eternal death, eternal separation from God in a place called hell!

(15 But here is the deal. God has provided a way, hasn’t He? The real question, the only question that ultimately matters, has always been this: How does an unrighteous man stand before a perfectly righteous God? The answer is, he can’t! Unless someone stands in his place. Unless someone takes not only the punishment for his sin, but also takes his sin away and gives him the righteousness he needs in order to stand before God! And that is what Christ accomplished for us, isn’t it? We are justified by faith in His finished work! When God looks at me, Wayne Hammel, He sees a righteous man! Not because I am in fact righteous, but because He has graciously given me His own Son’s very righteousness! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

(15 That is quite a deal, guys! You will not find a better one out there, either! Read illustration of Roll-Royce. That is what happens to us when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, isn’t it? All that sin debt we accrued throughout all our lives is just simply no longer there! There is no such account in God’s reckoning of our lives, is there?

(16 Yes, God is righteous! Yes, God is holy! And yes, God will judge sin! He must if He is to remain righteous and holy! But people, God is also merciful! God is also gracious! And God is also loving! He does not want to punish you! He wants to envelop you in His loving arms as His children, His wayward children, and bring you home to glory with Him!

(17 That is what Paul the Apostle, Paul the slave of Jesus Christ, preached, isn’t it? Paul wrote in, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 (KJV)

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. And in Galatians 6:14, Paul wrote that he would not glory in anything but the cross of Jesus Christ! Galatians 6:14 (KJV)

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whoma the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

(18 Listen, do you know Jesus? There is no other way provided by a holy God other than the way of the cross! There is no other way but Jesus! Do you know Him? John 14:6 (KJV)

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.