SM03 Romans part01 030407 Edited
Eastern Hills Bible Church
Doug Bullock
“Why Read Romans?”
March 4, 2007
Today I want to start a study in the book of Romans. You might be wondering, “Why should we read the book of Romans?”
Perhaps it will help to tell you a little about myself. I left high school in Cazenovia in 1975 and went to Bucknell University to study engineering. During my first year on the 3rd floor of Tax Hall I was surrounded by the expected amount of revelry and debauchery. But it was not huge much of a draw to me. In fact it seemed rather childish and pointless. Because I was on a spiritual quest.
I had grown up here at EHBC and came to know Christ as my Savior at a very young age. I grew up in Cazenovia and it was a wonderful and very fun high school experience. But, when I went to college I had this desire to get serious. I really wanted to figure out what was wrong with the world and how to fix it. So the revelry and debauchery seemed pointless.
So in this quest I had this compulsion to try all kinds of things. I tried rock climbing, spelunking and winter camping. I worked at a Rescue Mission camp one summer, and then hitchhiked all across the country with my good friend Dale Marris. I left Bucknell for a semester and went to study international development at American University in Washington DC. There I was exposed to exiled political leaders from the Philippines and from Africans who specialized in development.
When I walked off the American University campus and went into the city of DC it was quite a shock. I remember meeting my first homeless woman, lying on a bench covered over with old dirty clothes, with a shawl over her face. I thought, “It is too hot for such clothes; this person must be hurt.” I tired to help her, waking her up. She looked out from her hiding place and then covered her face back up. I continued to prod her “are you okay?’ She then let out a scream that must have caused the nearby Washington Monument to quake, saying “leave me alone.”
Eventually I got hocked up with a group in DC known as the Community for Creative Non- Violence, a community of leftist Christian anti- war socialists. Their most famous participant was an advocate for the homeless by the name of Mitch Snyder, who eventually after a number of hunger strikes took his own life. I did a little protesting with them, I specifically remember one march against the impending B-1 bomber. But for the most part I lived in this community, in the middle of a DC Ghetto and ran a soup kitchen for homeless and indigent men.
I was doing all of this to figure out “what is wrong with the world? What is the answer?” I was willing to try anything.
In fact it got kind of crazy, because one summer I went to 6 weeks of Marine boot camp at Quantico, Virginia for office training. When I got out, I finished the summer working at the community for Creative Non-Violence and living in the inner city.
I was in search of answers. I was deeply impacted by Ron Sider, a Christian social activist. To many he is a little bit to the right of Fidel Casrtro, especially by his book “Rich Christians in an age of Hunger,” I was serous considering committing my life to World Impact, a Christian inner city mission. The next summer I had plans to work with Habitat for Humanity, an organization which produced housing for the inner city and rural poor.
One day as I was reviewing my summer plans an possibilities I felt God very strongly lead me to give up this planned work with Habitat. Instead I went on an overseas summer missions trip, working maintenance in a large Belgium Bible school. Two things happened to me there that changed my world
First I met my incredible wife, Laurel, from Berkeley California. She became interested in me because her summer ?homework? (roommate?)from Wichita, Kansas developed a quick crush on me and kept talking about me. Soon Laurel was interested as well. We were married within the year.
The second thing that happened is that I had large chunks of time to study. The summer trip was from June- August, but I had a serious leading from God to drop out of school and to stay in Belgium for a period of time. So for 3 months I worked at a Belgium Bible school doing maintenance, with Dutch and Belgium Bible school students. For the most part I was the only person who spoke English except for my 82 year old co worker Pat Logershultz. This gave me every evening to read. One of the things I read was the book of Romans. I studied it. I labored over it. I tried to dig into every word. When I got finished my spiritual quest was over.
I had been striving to discover what was wrong with the world. I wanted to know what the key problems in the world were and what the solution was. Romans settled that issue for me. This book was used by God to change my life.
I am not the only person who has been changed by Romans. One of the early church leaders was a man named Augustine, or Augustine of Hippo. His early life was characterized by loose living and a search for answers to life's basic questions. He would follow various philosophers, only to become disillusioned with their teachings.
Some time in the year 386, Augustine, and his mother Monica, were spending time in a small village near Milan. While outdoors, Augustine heard the voice of a child singing a song, the words of which were, "Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it." He thought at first that the song was related to some kind of children's game, but could not remember ever having heard such a song before.
Then, realizing that this song might be a command from God to open and read the Scriptures, he located a Bible. He picked it up, opened it and read the first passage he saw. It was from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. Reading this scripture, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light. Later, reflecting on this experience, Augustine wrote his famous prayer: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
It was in reading and studying the book of Romans that Martin Luther came to understand Christ. “Here I felt that I …had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me”.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was reading Luther’s commentary on Romans and became a Christian. On May 24, 1738, on Aldersgate Street, John Wesley's heart awakened to embrace salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Excerpt from Wesley's May 24, 1738, Journal Entry
“In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
Samuel Coleridge, speaking for many, said, "I think that the Epistle to the Romans is the most profound work in existence"(Table Talk [Oxford: Oxford university Press, nod.], p. 232). And John Knox (not the Scot) said that it is "unquestionably the most important theological work ever written" (The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 9 [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1954], p. 355).
John Calvin said “if we understand this epistle, we have a passage opened to us to understanding the whole of Scripture.” I want us to study this book because I believe that if we understand this book, we will understand the Christian life.
Let me read the first 17 verses and make a view comments. First, who is the writer of this letter? This was written by the apostle Paul. Romans 1:1-16 “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—“
What was Paul set apart for? The gospel! What did he dedicate his life to? The gospel.
Now he will tell us that this letter is about the gospel and that the gospel is about Christ. 2 “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
Now he notes that the letter is written to the church in Rome and expresses his admiration for them, and how he has heard about them.
7 “To all in Rome who is loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. (Would that not be a great thing to say at EHBC)
9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
Now, he has a specific reason to want to come to them. It is in order to encourage them. He describes this desire to encourage them in 3 ways.
11 “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles”.
His desire is to come to them and make a spiritual impact in their lives. This is a guy who dedicated his life to the gospel, yet his passion here is to come and to Help them grow and to increase their faith that they already have. How do these two ideas fit together?
14”I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.”
Why does he want to do this? Is it because they are not Christians? - No, remember verse 8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” Everybody knows about their faith. These people are Christians, so why does he need to preach the gospel to them again?
Now in verse 16, 17 he gives what is often called the theme of this book.
16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
What is this letter about? Vs 16 - of the gospel. What is the gospel? We tend to think that it is the news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It certainly includes that. But it must be more than that. For why would he want to preach about the saving death of Christ to people who are already saved? Why, if he dedicated his life to the news tht Jesus died on the cross, would he even worry about their increased spiritual growth?
The gospel is more than Jesus died for you. Some people figure that the Christian life is only about the gospel, and the gospel is only about Jesus dying for them. So they figure, once you have the ticket you are good.
But the gospel is more than that. This letter is more than that. What is the gospel? Well, the word simply means good news. So, this letter contains… Good news
What is the Good News about? Well it is the good news, 2 “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son,” It is good news about Jesus Christ. We will see what exactly it is about Christ as we move on.
16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” Why would he say “I am not ashamed” of the good news? Why would he even mention shame? Because it is very likely that he might have been ashamed of it. It is really good news, but at times when you tell that good news you will feel like a Twinkie. I told you a few weeks ago about the time in 5th grade when my gym teacher asked me why I let another student pick on me; I wanted to say ‘because of the good news about Jesus.” But I dropped the ball. I was ashamed. Many of you said to me afterwards, I have been ashamed as well. The good news might embarrass us.
By the way, I did not share with you what Jesus says about our being ashamed of him.
Mark 8:38 8”if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
I remember seeing Patricia Heaton, who is Raymond’s wife on “Everybody Loves Raymond”. She is a serious follower of Christ. She is or was the head of an organization called “Feminists for Life”, which is a strong pro-life organization. She was being interviewed by Diane Sawyer. Diane was asking her, “Well, what do they think of you in Hollywood, as you take a pro-life stance against abortion? Does that make them mad?” (referring to the leading pro-abortion ladies of Hollywood, such as barb Streisand or Helen Hunt?) “How do you handle their rejection”? She said something that really made me think “As a Christian I will stand before Jesus Christ, not Helen Hunt one day”. He is the person I have to answer to.
Next time you are too ashamed to let people clearly know that you are a follower of Christ, ask yourself “am I going to stand before this person when I die? Do I really care what this person thinks of me or of what Christ thinks of me?” To the extent that we are too ashamed of him, he will be ashamed of us. “Yes he is mine, but he sure did not act like it!!”
Well, Paul says he is not ashamed. Why is he unashamed? 16”I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God.” What do we mean by that? Well, it unleashes the power of God. It gives us access to the power of God. It helps us experience God’s help. Let me say it differently, the gospel is good news about Jesus Christ, that we might be ashamed of, or embarrassed by, but it will tell us about how to get God’s help. It will help you not to live alone.
Power for what? Well read on.
6 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.?
What does salvation mean? Well, we tend to think of it as going to heaven, finding forgiveness. But it does not necessarily mean just that. In the Old Testament it often meant to simply be delivered. (Like Owen Pipes), as in the idea of being rescued.) In the New Testament we speak of three aspects of salvation.
Past- salvation- justification- freedom from the penalty of sin
Present-salvation- sanctification- freedom from the power of sin
Future-salvation- glorification- freedom from the presence of sin
The gospel is good news about Christ which, if you grip onto will free you from hell in the life to come and from hell on earth, and help you to experience God’s help, as you walk with God.
Salvation is described a little bit later in veers 17. 17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Literally this can be translated and often is as “for in the gospel a righteousness from (of) God is revealed.” One way to understand it is that the gospel tells us how righteous God is. Marin Luther understood it this way. "In it the righteousness of God is revealed," that …stood in my way. For I hated that word "righteousness of God," which, according to … all the teachers, (referred to the fact that) God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner. … I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners,”
The gospel was bad news to him because all he could see was that it revealed the fact that God is righteous and he is going to punish sinners. But the real spiritual change took place when he understood that the little word “of” had the idea of “from”. This is talking to us about how we can get righteousness from God.
This verse is telling us that in the Gospel God’s righteousness is shown to us and revealed to us. It is given to us so that we can experience it. Let me say it differently, “Live in harmony with God.”
Bunn
Designed-
But this takes faith. On Monday October 2, 2006 Charles Carl Roberts IV invaded a one-room schoolhouse in rural Paradise, Pennsylvania. He released 15 boys, telling them to go home. He then tied the feet of the 10 girls and shot them. Three of them died at the scene, and two died the next day. 5 more were seriously wounded. The massacre was unprovoked, unexpected and without a clear motive or purpose.
When the police invaded the school house Roberts shot himself. How horribly tragic. But out of that horrible tragedy amazing grace was found. For even as the executions were taking place some of the girls called out to the shooter, shoot me first, kill me, let the other ones go. After the massacre the response of the Amish community was amazing. The blood was hardly dry on the bare board floor of the Nickel Mines School and the community was forgiving this horrible act.
A grieving grandfather told young relatives not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse massacre, a pastor said on Wednesday.
"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys. He was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,' " the Rev. Robert Scheck told CNN.
Midwife Rita Rhoads was present for the births of two of the five girls who were killed and also speaks of forgiving the gunman. "If you have Jesus in your heart and He has forgiven you … [how] can you not forgive other people?" Rhoads said.
Amish parents sent words of forgiveness to the family of the killer who had executed their children. And Henderson wonders--profanely--over at The Huffington Post how the Amish community violated by a gunman can pay "their respects at the murderer's funeral and set up a fund for his family."Susan Henderson a writer and a poet, writing on her blog was marveling about this response. “I haven't heard a single Amish person calling the murderer a ?mix?, as I did”.
This is not the typical path of forgiveness.
Normally forgiveness requires an apology. Sometimes a person will beg for forgiveness and still we shake our heads, no. This is because the person must first suffer. He must feel shame and humiliation before earning our forgiveness. He must also be punished in proportion to our outrage. Some crimes we've deemed unforgivable.
…I am not as forgiving as the Amish. I still call murderers mix. If someone cuts in line and then trips, I'll probably smile. Still, I can't help but feel goosebumps to see what the human heart is capable of. Forgiveness, apparently, has nothing at all to do with the perpetrator. Forgiveness is ours to give or withhold whenever we want.
But this takes