Romans 1 wrap-up

Wow! For those who don't believe that the word can be new and active and egaging for us today, Romans 1 proved otherwise. In a roomfull of a dozen men, God spoke through Romans 1 in all kinds of ways. It was revealing and convicting.

I think the thing that really stands out for me is a question that was asked in reference to Romans 1:14-17. The question is this; "Do we have a faith that is inclusive or exclusive?" In light of the first chapter of Romans, it is clear that, idealogically, the Gospel of Christ is available to all. However, as my friend Toren was so quick to point out, we are a broken and fragmented people and the reality of our faith doesn't often look like it should. This idea sparked debate and conviction amongts the guys at bible study and within my heart.

In verses 18-32 of Romans chapter 1, Paul uses sin to group all people together. He is using sin as the common denominator by which all people have failed God. By showing that all have sinned, he is detroying the idea of "good" and "bad" people. Think of Jesus, in John 8, telling those who have not sinned to cast the first stone at the woman caught in adultery. This is what Paul is trying to teach the Jews in Rome who view themselves as better than the Greeks/Romans. However, much like the Jews Paul is writing to, we are broken, and it is easier to point the finger of judgement than it is to let the word search and convict us. In thinking about this and discussing it within the group, it became obvious that maybe our judgement is no different. What people groups do we, as believers, pour shame and guilt upon? Is this an appropriate response in light of the word? Think about the moral superiority that we have claimed in the face of issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and addiction. Is this the viewpoint of an inclusive or exclusive faith? Maybe the first thing we need to do as believers is to renew our understanding in a common humanity that has collectively failed God and who has been offered grace and salvation through HIS mercy.

Don't believe me..... well we are about to continue the discussion. Chapter 2 of Romans is going to continue to push this ideas and I think it is right for us to wrestle with the weight of it.

Thanks for joining me on the journey.

Yours,
Rob

Romans 1

Before we get started, I want to point out that the first 8-12 chapters of Romans form a basic syllogistic argument. Like all syllogisms, Paul must first give us some basic premises. It is important to remember this when studying Romans, because it means we can not take it out of context. We must wrestle with the full weight of the argument he is making. If we don't, we miss the point of the first half of the book.

So here we go...

Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to the gospel of God
Rom 1:2 (which He had promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures),
Rom 1:3 about His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Rom 1:4 who was marked out the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead;
Rom 1:5 by whom we have received grace and apostleship, to obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name;
Rom 1:6 among whom you also are the called-out ones of Jesus Christ:

In any letter, you have an introduction. "Hello, this is who I am." Paul is no different. He opens the letter by telling everyone who he is, and in so doing reveals the authority with, and of which, he speaks. Who am I? I'm a servant to Christ. I'm a called apostle. I was seperated to the gospel. And what is the Gospel? It was the prophesized news of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. And who is Jesus? He was from the seed of David, marked out in power, with the spirit, by the resurrection from the dead. Yeah, and what does that mean for me? He has given us grace and apostleship, to the obedience to the faith. For who? For all nations, for His name. Does that mean me? Yes, among whom YOU also are the called-out ones of Jesus.

Two things happen with this introduction, Paul introduces them to himself and to Christ. Some of the things he mentions about Christ would have been very meaningful to the Jews in Rome. Especially when he talks about Christ being prophesized in the Holy Scriptures, and being from the Seed of David. The Jews would have immediately known he was referring to their Messiah. However, he mentions other things about Christ which would have been meaningful to the Greeks/Romans who believed in many other Gods. Power, Holiness, Resurrection from the Dead. These are all things that would have been comparisons to the Gods the Greeks/Romans believed in. Remember, the idea of worshipping a God was not new to the Romans. In fact, many of the stories of their Gods sound very similar to the story of Christ. So, Paul mentions that this Christ had power (authority, rule), Holiness from the Spirit (High, Exalted), and that he conquerred death (resurrection). At least two Gods whom the Romans worshipped would have fit into this description (Mithra, Adonis). Paul is making it clear from the start that Christ has done what only their best Gods would be creditted with.

So even in Paul's introduction, he speaks very specifically to both the Jews and the Greeks. His message for both is that he is revealing Christ, and that Christ is available to everyone (1:5).

Rom 1:7 to all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continuing on with a basic letter introduction, Paul is now telling them who the letter is to. It is to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. In the first half of verse 7, Paul is acknowledging the believers who are already present in the church at Rome. He is offering a salutation to those who have come to believe in Christ whether rich or poor, bond or free, male or female, Jew or Gentile, without any distinction, being all one in Christ Jesus. He then begins with a blessing, Grace and Peace, to this emerging church.

Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you
Rom 1:10 always in my prayers, making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you.
Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to you for the establishing of you.
Rom 1:12 And this is to be comforted together with you by our mutual faith, both yours and mine.
Rom 1:13 But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that oftentimes I purposed to come to you, and was kept back until the present; that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other nations.

Paul does something here that I feel all Christians should take note of, he tells this church how he prays for them. He is thankful for them. He longs to see them. He wants to encourage them and be encouraged by them. He even tells them honestly that it was not his avoidance, but outside forces which has thusfar kept him away. Ultimately, Paul is confirming and affirming his friendship with these people. He is showing his love. He is letting this community know that no matter what he may say to them throughout this letter, it is coming from a place of deep connection and love. Imagine if every relationship (with believers and non) looked like this. What do you think would happen when people saw Jesus in us this way?

Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the foreigners, both to the wise and to the unwise.
Rom 1:15 So, as much as is in me lies, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome also.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Language here is important, even more so than normal. Paul makes it known that he is not on one side or the other when it comes to the hatred between the two groups here. He is letting the people in Rome know that, before he even begins to preach the good news, he wants no part in this bigotry, this racism, this hate. He wants them to know that, Jew or Greek, Christ is available to all, and that he is not ashamed of it. He is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. What is interesting here, is the MLK analogy I mentioned earlier. Paul is going to preach the Gospel to all, but he is going to have opposition on both sides. Jews will feel like Christ is their Messiah and therefor only available to the nation of Israel, and not to Gentiles. While this is not true, Paul makes mention of the idea of salvation being first for the Jew. This is one of those verses that can be dangerously taken out of context. The next two chapters of Romans will continue the argument of why salvation is first for the Jew, but he does so by pointing out that punishment for unbelief comes first to the Jew as well. Paul is making the point of letting the Jews know that yes they are Gods chosen people, but through Christ their privelage has been fulfilled. On the other hand, Greeks will also have their own issues dealing with their hatred of the Jews and not wanting to be grouped with these barbarians (non-greeks). Paul is attempting to calm both sides by assuring them that the Christ he is about to preach is available to all.

Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

This verse is another of the many in the first chapter of Romans that are misused. There isn't really much to say about this verse on it's own, other than to say it confirms that the righteousness of God will be revealed by the Gospel teaching. Also, it begins the argument for why Christ is available to all people. These are much bigger issues, carrying a great deal of implication, but they reference the second half of the argument from the 3rd-6th chapters, and I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves. So for now, let's just remember this verse and trust that we will come back to it later.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because the thing which may be known of God is clearly revealed within them, for God revealed it to them.
Rom 1:20 For the unseen things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being realized by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, for them to be without excuse.
Rom 1:21 Because, knowing God, they did not glorify Him as God, neither were thankful. But they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools
Rom 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.
Rom 1:25 For they changed the truth of God into a lie, and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this cause, God gave them up to dishonorable affections. For even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature.
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not think fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right,
Rom 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; being full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, evil habits, becoming whisperers,
Rom 1:30 backbiters, haters of God, insolent, proud, braggarts, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 undiscerning, perfidious, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
Rom 1:32 who, knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but have pleasure in those practicing them.

It is huge that Paul is going to talk about Christ and Salvation being available to all, but first he has to make the point that Christ and Salvation are needed by all. These verses are simply a laundry list of things that mankind has done to screw up their relationship with a Holy God. Paul makes the same point he is making here a bit more consicely later on when he says, "all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." What is so huge about these verses is the things he mentions. The Jews would read these verses and immediately think of all the things that the Greeks had done wrong. They would immediately see the idol worship and the unrighteousness, and point out things in their minds where Paul was attacking the Greeks. However, this list is so important because he mentions things specifically which the nation of Israel did as well. When you read verses 21-24, remember the people of Israel worshipping the golden calf in the desert after being freed from Egypt. This is meaningful, because Paul is making the first part of a huge argument.

Jews. Gentiles. Greeks. Foreigners. Everyone has lived in ways that have created a chasm between their lives and a Holy God.

This is need. This is desperation.

I could talk for hours about why this is so huge, but it is enough to say that God is letting us see our need for him, regardless of who we are or what we have done. This is why God is praised. He fulfills the greatest need we have that we could never fulfill on our own.....

but there I go getting ahead of myself again.

I don't know about you, but I am stoked for Chapter 2. See you next week.

11/23/06
Rob

Romans Background

Before I get in to the first chapter of Romans, I think a little background is important. Paul wrote Romans while in Ephesus in the first couple months of the year 57. He was nearing the end of his third missionary journey, preparing to sail back to Antioch and from there return to Jerusalem. In Acts 18:21-Acts 20, we learn about Paul's time in Ephesus. I think this is really crucial to understanding some of the things that are brought up in the first chapter of Romans. Towards the end of his two years in Ephesus, a man named Demetrius who sold statues of the goddess Artemis at the temple started a riot by convincing the people that Paul was going to detroy their businesses by telling people that there was a God who was greater than Artemis. You see the Greeks (and the Romans as well, following in their traditions) believed in a religion of many Gods, which we know today as basic mythology. In Ephesus, there was a temple to Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), the goddess of fertility, and most historians believe that over a million people traveled to Ephesus once a year to worship at the temple. Demetrius is seeing Paul take all these people away from worshipping at the temple and therefor stealing his business selling little statues. In Acts 19, Demetrius leads this mob of people (most of whom do not even know why they are there) into the theater. Once the people are there, they see Alexander, and immediately begin to chant "Great is The Goddess Artemis of Ephesus!" The important thing here is that Alexander is a Jew. They chant at Alexander because they believe he is the one who must have done something wrong and so they are intimidating him. This situation helps us to understand a relational thing that is taking place right now across the Roman Empire.

Racism. Bigotry. Elitism. These are not new things to these people, and they are not new things to us. They are outcomes of all that is broken within us. In the text of Romans, they are not even isolated to non-believers. Anyways, moving on.

The Roman Empire at this time takes over where the Greek Empire left off. The idea being that they worshipped the same way, the did government the same way, they were educated the same way, and they both believed in many, many Gods who each stood for something. So, within the Greek language that is used here by Paul when he refers to Greek and Non-Greek, he is referring to Greeks/Romans/Educated/Civilized and Foreigners/Barbarians. This is a phrase (Greek and Non-Greek) that would only be used by someone who is of Greco-Roman decent. In the same way, "Jew and/or Gentile," is a phrase that would only be used by a Jew. The language of the time that would be used to say this (Hebrew mostly, but there is a similar translation in the Greek) would be making a distinction between God's people (Jews) and Godless people (Gentiles). I say all this to point out the hatred between the two groups, Jews and Greeks/Romans, and also to point out the huge thing that makes Paul so special and makes him the only person who could write this letter to the Romans. Paul is both a Jew and a Roman.

To really wrap your head around this, imagine the civil-rights movement. Imagine that MLK was of mixed races. He would have opportunities to speak with those both black and white, and yet he would find pretty heavy opposition on both sides as well. This is Paul.

So, short recap. Jews and Greeks hate each other, and both worship different Gods. Both groups are convinced that they are the only ones of worth in the world. Both groups are convinced that they worship the true God(s). Paul is both, and is writing a letter to an emerging church in a city that was the center of the world at the time. He is writing the letter while teaching in Ephesus, on his way home from his third missionary journey. He has not yet been to Rome, and there are growing threats against his life as he heads back to Jerusalem. It is also important to know that Paul spends the second half of 57, as well as 58, and the first half of 59 in prison while in Jerusalem and Antioch. We are unaware from scripture wether or not he knew it fully, but Paul is definately aware of the possibility of being imprisoned or even killed. So, as he writes Romans he knows he may never live to actually visit these people or even write them again. This is important because Romans is perhaps the most concise explanation of the Gospel and all of it's implications. It is as if Paul wanted to leave the Romans a letter that would answer every question they may have as best as possible.

And so we begin...

11/21/06
Rob

The men's bible study group that I am in is going into Romans over the next several months, which excites me to no end. Romans is, by far, my favorite book of the bible, and it is the one which I have studied the most. In preperation for this upcoming journey through Paul's letter, I have been looking over the book of Romans, along with some different commentaries on the book, it's time and setting, and some of the overall themes. On top of this, I have been also reading two new books, Jarret Stevens' "The Diety formerly known as God" and Rob Bell's "Velvet Elvis." Both of which, in their own unique way hay really shaken up the way I aproach the text and it's implication.

Last night, Meg and I were at dinner and we were discussing the fact that no matter how many times I read Romans, or any of the bible for that matter, I always find something new and fresh and engaging in the words. In talking about it, I compared the bible to a Werther's Original Toffee Candy (which are freaking amazing!). For me, I love the Werther's, but like all hard candy I eventually get impatient and must chew it and break it up and swallow it down, destroying my teeth in the process. I am guilty of doing the same thing with the word. Often, I will read a passage of scripture, take out of it what I can at the moment and move on. I get impatient and must simply chew it up and go on to the next piece. I often fail to just sit and suck on it for a while. The danger in this, for me, is that my understanding of the scripture becomes not about the text or the implication, but about my mood or the other things I have going on in my head at the time. I don't take the proper time to focus on what is right in front of me. At the same time, I kind of like that every time I read Romans, something new jumps out at me, even if it was something I missed before. This is where the other anology of reading scripture comes in. It is very much like watching a really funny movie. For me, let's assume we are talking about "Dumb and Dumber." The first time I saw the movie, I laughed non-stop, but my laughing made it hard for me to pick up on the more subtle jokes. In fact, I had seen the movie probably twenty times before I picked up on a joke that happens towards the end of the movie. In the hotel room scene where the bad guy comes in and asks to see the breifcase, Jim Carrey's Lloyd refers to the guy as "Mr. Samsonite." It is really stinking funny, but only because it builds on a previous joke in the movie. I think the bible is the same way. In Romans, there are a lot of things I find myself noticing now, for the first time, but I notice them now becuase I have read Acts, I know what perspective Paul is writing from because I get the earlier joke. I don't know that any of this made a whole lot of sense, but I wanted to write it to explain the rest of this entry and the 16-20 entries that will follow.

I am going to begin journaling through Romans, sharing all of the thoughts that have been on my heart about the text of my favorite book. I am doing so for my own benefit, but also I want to share my perspective on these verses, and hopefully get yours as well.

The first chapter's journal will be posted later today. For the guys in bible study, I hope that you look forward to taking this journey together. For the rest of you, consider this an open invitation to read what I believe is the most important book in the bible.

Yours,
Rob