Introduction message 1-9-2022

ROMANS INTRODUCTION Sunday January 9, 2022 Romans 1:1-5 (NLT) This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Romans 1:1-5 (NLT) Intro. A. Today we are beginning a journey. A journey that I believe will be inspiring, encouraging, instructing, challenging and yes at some point convicting. Today we begin a journey in the book of Romans. A journey that I can only honestly tell you that it begins today, but I can't say when it will end. I will leave the end date in God's hands as He leads me in my time of preparations in the coming months. B. Today I will endeavor to give you a brief introduction to this book. I want to take about the Person who wrote the book. I will be taking about the Place to whom the book was written and finally the Purpose of this book as least as best I can understand. 1. Some say that Paul's letter to the Roman church was a theological treaty. Now there can be absolutely no doubt that Romans is full of wonderful and powerful theological teaching, but I am not certain that I ascribe this to being exclusively a theological letter. In my humble opinion the letter of Romans is simply a letter written to Christ followers in Rome. Now again this does not diminish the theological teaching we find in it; I just believe that every letter Paul wrote to the various churches was full of theology because after all what is theology? Theology is the study of God and at least for those who are endeavoring to follow Christ, why do we study about God? We do so in order that we might live in such a way that we honor Him and point others to Him. For us this is fulling the purpose of Worship. I think we will clearly see as we make our way through this letter that this is exactly what Paul is endeavoring to do. He is teaching the believers at Rome to, as he said to the Philippian church, "Walk worthy of the calling they had received." It is my belief that the issues discussed in the book of Romans are at the very core of what it means for us to be true followers of Jesus. 2. The book of Romans is a letter that has deeply impacted the church across the centuries. You may know that it was after a reading of Romans that Martin Luther began what we call the Reformation. The message that any person could freely come to God themselves without the help of a priest and find forgiveness of their sins and new life in Christ. Listen to this question Job asked. "Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God's sight?" Job 9:2 (NLT) The answer to that question is fully answered in Paul's letter to Rome. Trans. OK let's look at those three points I told you I wanted to share in this message. The person, The Place and The Purpose. Let's begin with the person. I. THE PERSON As we talk about the person who wrote Romans, I realize that some of what I will share will be things you already know, but I feel it is important to remind ourselves of them because they play a role in what and why Paul says the things he does in this letter. A. Most of you know how Paul became a follower of Jesus. As a young man Paul had been brought up to become a Pharisee. This you will recall was the religious order that had Jesus arrested and eventually crucified on the cross. To the chagrin of these Pharisees though the crucifixion of Jesus led to an explosion of Christ followers after Pentecost. It is then that Paul enters the picture as a zealot who becomes a key figure in the persecution of the church. Of course, one day on his way to Damascus to arrest more of these Christians, Jesus appears to him on this road and his life is forever changed. As I shared with you last Sunday Paul goes from a murderer of Christians to a Christian missionary. It is pretty difficult to argue the transformation that took place in his life. To try and keep myself from going too long with this message, let me point out three things I think are important to know about Paul. 1. First of all Paul was a mam of Brilliant Intellect. As I just mentioned he was brought up to be a part of one of the highest religious orders of his day. As he himself tell us, he was instructed by a man named Rabban Gamaliel I. This man was considered to be the most distinguished Rabbi in Jerusalem before it fell in 70 AD. This would probably be the equivalent to being educated in Harvard or Oxford. What we see in Romans is that Paul did not discover a new doctrine, but in fact he was able to connect the Old Testament and all he had learned to show us that the doctrine of justification by faith was nothing new but has been with us since the beginning. Look at these three examples. "And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith." Genesis 15:6 (NLT), "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt," Psalms 32:1-2 (NLT), "Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God." Habakkuk 2:4 (NLT) Paul understood that this marvelous and gracious solution to man's sin and guilt problem was made possible through Christ's death on the cross, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 53. We also see the brilliance of Paul in his Mission Strategy. Let me just quickly outline that strategy. a. Work in the great urban centers, so that from there the message may spread to the surrounding towns and villages. b. Make use of the synagogue, in order to reach not only Jews but also Gentile proselytes. c. Show that new-dispensation events are the fulfilment of old-dispensation prophecies. d. Adapt the gospel message to the culture and the needs of the hearers. e. Do follow-up work by means of return visits, letters, and special envoys. f. Promote unity between rich and poor, Gentile and Jew, by asking the more prosperous churches to help the poorer ones. So first we see that Paul was a brilliant intellect. The second thing we see about Paul is that he had an Iron Will. 2. Paul had an Iron Will. Paul was a man of invincible determination. We see this in his writing. Let's look at a few. "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NLT) "Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. 28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches." 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (NLT) I think I can safely say that if most of us had encountered the problems and persecution that Paul did, we would have bailed out. We would have said, "I didn't sign up for this." I must admit that this makes me feel ashamed and embarrassed because the very morning I was writing this sermon I spent just about all my time in prayer, whining and complaining to God. I even told him what Moses told God when he got frustrated. I reminded God that I didn't ask for this position in life. I reminded Him that I was the one who tried, desperately to ignore and avoid this call. So WHY ME?! When I look at all Paul endured it makes me ashamed. Compared to Paul I have barely stubbed my toe. Now let me point out that we must not mistake Paul's Iron Will for bullheaded stubbornness. When it came to issues of Biblical principle such as salvation through Christ alone, Paul was unwilling to budge, but when it came to matters that were inconsequential to our salvation there was charity. Let me illustrate from Paul's own life. "Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there-false ones, really-who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you." Galatians 2:4-5 (NLT) So we see that Paul was strong willed when it came to issues that would impact people's salvation. Now look at these verses. "Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek." Acts 16:1-3 (NLT) Here he is will willing to let Timothy be circumcised, not because it was necessary for salvation, but he saw that this could impede the gospel message if Timothy was not. It was said of the poet John Greenleaf Whitter that he "yielded in smaller matters, that he might win in the bigger." I think the same can be said for Paul. Let me share one more thing about Paul. He was a brilliant intellect; he had an iron will and finally. 3. He had a Compassionate Heart. Paul had regrets from his former life, but I want you to know that those regrets did not stop him or prevent him from being used by God. He knew what he had done, but he also know that he had been forgiven. Here is how he looked at it. "For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church. 10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me-and not without results." 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NLT) "This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"-and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT) Trans. OK I have spent a lot of time talking about Paul let's look at the place Paul was writing to. II. THE PLACE A. The truth is we know very little about the church in Rome. It was not a church that Paul had founded as were those he wrote other letters to. It is most likely that this church had been formed by Jews who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. Look what we are told in Acts 2. "Here we are-Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" Acts 2:9-11 (NLT) This of course is the day of Pentecost when Peter preaches his message and 3000 people are saved. It is highly likely that some of those who were visiting from Rome had responded to this message and taken it back with them to Rome. History tells us that later a Roman emperor named Claudius had the Jews and Jewish Christians expelled from Rome. We read about this in Acts. "There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome." Acts 18:2 (NLT) Now the consequence of the Jews being deported was that the church at Rome was now left under gentile leadership. This meant that some of the Jewish laws and customs would have been excluded from the church. The problem was that when Claudius died in 54AD and some of the Jewish believers returned to Rome they found a church very different from the one they left. This would have raised issues of conflict which we will explore when we look at chapters 14 and 15. While there were problems in the church at Rome, just as there are in any church by the way. There were some great things to be said for the church. Let me list five things quickly. a) It was a lay led church. As I already noted, Paul did not establish this church and for all we know it was not established by one of the disciples. Some like to credit Peter with this, but there is just not enough evidence. This was a truly lay led church. b) It had a worldwide reputation. Look at what Paul said about them. "Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world." Romans 1:8 (NLT) What greater complement could be said about any church? c) It was a Gentile church. The Gentile believers undoubtedly outnumbered the Jewish Christians, but Paul still wanted them to remember that this salvation came from the Jews. Here is what he told them. "But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root." Romans 11:18 (NLT) d) It was a Persecuted Church. Approximately seven years after Paul wrote this letter Nero burned down the older section of Rome and blamed the fire on the Christians. This led to almost unspeakable persecution of the church, but as always happens this persecution led to the exodus of believers from Rome who became seeds of the gospel that continue to spread around the world. Trans. OK I have one more thing I need to do before we finish this morning. Let's just quickly talk about the purpose of this letter. II. THE PURPOSE I said as we began today that some people feel that this is Paul's theological treaties. Yes, there is certainly as lot of good solid theology in Romans, but I am not ready to say that this was Pauls' purpose for writing. In fact, I think he very clearly states his reason for writing in the first chapter. Let's read his words. "One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours." Romans 1:10-12 (NLT) It is widely believed that Paul was looking to make Rome his new home base for his missionary journeys. Up to this point that home base had been Antioch, but after Paul is concluding his third missionary journey and preparing to take an offering back to Jerusalem, he stops in Corinth to write this letter and listen to what he says in chapter 15. "But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. 24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey." Romans 15:23-24 (NLT) Paul clearly tells us that he has finished his work in the region east of Rome and now desires to move the message west with the help of those in Rome. I know this sounds basic but if you want someone to support your ministry you need to let them know what your ministry is about. You need to let them know what you believe and why. I think we can all agree that the letter of Romans clearly lays this out. Let me remind you that it was after Paul had written this letter that he goes to Jerusalem to deliver this gift and then he is anticipating going on from there to Rome, but of course things do not work out as planned. He is jailed and for a long period of time, so it looks like his dream will not be fulfilled. The fact is though his desire is fulfilled just not in the way he imagined. I think there is a valuable lesson for all of us here. Usually when we have certain requests we make to God. We also know (even though we might not say so) how and when those requests need to be fulfilled and if God does not do things the way we want or in our time frame we can get pretty upset. This is a lesson in faith. If God answered every prayer in precisely the manner, we wanted him to where would our faith be? Wouldn't those prayers become more of a demand of God than a request to God? Conclusion A. I want to leave you with a few thoughts as I close out this introduction to Romans. 1. Let's go back to those things we learned about who Paul was. I gave you three things. He had a Brilliant Intellect; he had an Iron Will and he had a Compassionate heart. 2. Now no one may be able to say of us that we have a 'brilliant intellect", but they can say of us that we are growing and maturing in our faith. That we are becoming more like our Father. This is the purpose of Discipleship. Not to be gods, but to be godly. I do not every expect to be as smart as the apostle Paul, but I need to use the intellect God has given me to learn and grow and be all I can be in Christ. 3. I think we all need to ask God to give us an Iron Will. Not a stubborn, bullheaded spirit, but an unflinching commitment to the truths found in the Bible and to have a spirit of charity towards those who are weaker in their faith. 4. Finally to have a Compassionate Heart. If we are to reach those who are without Jesus, we must also remember from where we came. We should not live with a debilitating regret and guilt, but we should remember from where we have come so that we can be more compassionate towards those who are still far from Jesus. 2