Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of god which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,… In the economy of Israel, a bondservant is “devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests” whether it be to a kinsman redeemer, due to oblation …. or due to love, as in the year of Yahweh’s release. (Deut 15:1-2; 16).
“His banner over me is love”? (SOS 2:4) IN CONTRAST, the word “apostolos” means “messenger,” but it is used biblically to speak exclusively of the original twelve and Matthias (chosen before the Spirit came in its fullness on the Day of Pentecost) and Paul. “If he had spoken exclusively of himself as a servant, he would not doubt, have been disregarded by the rebellious and discounted by the skeptical, but if he had thundered constantly concerning his apostleship, the timid would have been terrified. He was the servant ‘apostle’ who lived in the challenging tension between personal humility and derived authority, in which, to a lesser extent, all of Christ’s disciples are called to live.” [The Communicator’s Commentary]
separated to the Gospel of God….which he promised beforehand through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures…. “This is an important point because, new as the Christian Gospel seemed when it first burst unto our world, the Gospel of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ was no novelty. Quite the contrary, it was the goal to which all of the prior revelations of God during the Old Testament period had been pointing. Second, these prior announcements of the Gospel are in the Holy Scriptures, which is Paul’s way of referring to the Old Testament…we are not to look elsewhere for it.” [BSF]
concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead…. Jesus Messiah was born the “seed [sperma] of david, according to the flesh [kata sarka].” Based on updates from the prophets, the Seed of the woman was to come from the seed of David. (John 7:42; Jer 23:5) And Jesus was declared to be “the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness [kata pneuma hagiosynes]” established by His resurrection.
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship …. Paul is not speaking of the church. At most he is speaking of himself and the other eleven. But perhaps, “In the plural ‘we’ there is no reference to any other than himself. In epistolary compositions… the plural is largely used, and the New Testament writers, as Cicero sometimes does, alternate between the plural and the singular in the same breath (see <2 Cor. 5:11; Col. 4:3; 2 Pet. 1:15-16>).” (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary)
for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name… The old religion always results in obedience. Abraham left. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Heb 11:8) Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.” (Heb 11:17) “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” (Gen 6:22) “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Heb 11:7) “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’” (Num 13:30) Paul testified: “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:19) “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7)
On Pentecost, Peter preached a might sermon. Many were “ cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:37-42)
among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ… The same God who sent the apostle calls every member of His church by the same Spirit to a unique ministry to help further the spread of the Gospel of Messiah.
Rom 1:7-13 To all 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. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 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 always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.
“When Paul wrote this epistle, he had not been to Rome but had often wished to go and now purpose to do so. How then was the church here brought into existence? That it had originated early we deduce from the fact that when Paul wrote this epistle, the faith of the Roman believers was ‘already spoken of throughout the world.’ … Turning back to Acts 2, we find in Peter’s audience on the never-to-be-forgotten day of Pentecost ‘devout men’ (Acts 2:5) who were ‘sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes’. (Acts 2:10) Before they returned to Rome they would learn much more than simply what they heard in that first sermon by Peter. Some of them would return to Rome as true converts and disseminators of the… faith.” [J. Sidlow Baxter]
In the eyes of Paul, the church at Rome “was strong enough to help him carry out further missionary activities. They are not called recent converts; they are not treated as having been improperly instructed, but seem to have been an organized and well-grounded congregation (Rom 15:14, ‘filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another’). The epistle deals with no major error in the church; nor does it have to deal with organizational principles. It was a church that was universally famous (Rom 1:8), and not merely because it was in Rome.” [http://bible.org/seriespage/introduction-book-romans] And so every born-again, Spirit-filled believer is able to help. “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20-21)
Rom 1:14-17 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel [Euaggelion—Good News] of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation [soteria—rescue or safety] for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)
Paul was a bondservant of Jesus and he subjected himself to bondage to the Gentiles (non-Jews) - the Greeks (upright citizens) and barbarians (savage inhabitants), likewise to the wise and to the unwise, to tell them the Good News of the Gospel. The Message is that Jesus is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” The Greek word “soteria” (so-tay-ree'-ah) translated ‘salvation’ is related to “sos” meaning ‘safe and sound.’ It is a noun meaning rescue or safety. J. Stuart Briscoe explains: “In his travels, he had seen God’s power at work through the Gospel, making every conceivable type of person ‘safe and sound.’ So without hesitation he proclaimed this Gospel as a powerful life-changing agent ‘for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.’”
Regardless of seeming religious standing or good works, those with faith in Jesus will be the ones secured in the end time. They will be counted worthy of the resurrection of life; while those with no regard for Him will not, regardless of their works. Good works may assuage the guilt conscience, but they are unable to justify the guilty sinner. Jesus alone can do that.
To make his case, Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk. The issue of the God’s righteousness consumed the prophet. In his three chapter book, he put into words a struggle which took place in his own soul. He did not preach to the people. Rather, he sought Yahweh’s face on the issue of justice for the righteous. In the first chapter, he cried out to God over all of the injustices in the land. It is “the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” The second Chapter is the main response of God; it is a message for today’s world, as we will soon observe. It is none other than the utterances of God for the end-time generation. It begins: “Then Yahweh answered me and said…” This is where we learn that “the just shall live by faith.” The third and final chapter is a prayer in which he shows gratitude for the divine revelation to him.
The cry of the prophet is similar to the cry of the agnostic. Habakkuk is dismayed by violence and lawlessness in the land of Judah—the Church. He cries: “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the Torah is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.” (Habakkuk 1:1-4) And "God Almighty" seems to remain neutral.
The not so subtle different in the cry of the prophet and that of the agnostic is that the prophet’s address is to the God of Scriptures. It is a cry for salvation. Yahweh tells Habakkuk of imminent repercussions of the sin of God’s people of his day: "Look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded for I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you! For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs…."( Habakkuk 1:5-11) The answer is the Babylonian captivity. God was going to use a proud and wicked nation to chastise the children of God.
This does not make the prophet happy, but rather troubles him all the more. (Habakkuk 1:12-17) So, he decided to wait on God for an answer saying: “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what the LORD will say to me and what I will answer when the LORD corrects me.”(Habakkuk 2:1) He believed in the God of Israel and expected Him to answer and correct him.
This is the sign of a circumcised heart. We need to be willing to let God correct our thinking. “‘Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’”(Proverbs 3:11-12) “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews 12:5-9)
Finally, Yahweh gives the answer that satisfies: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.”( Habakkuk 2:2-4) The message is for “an appointed time” still in the future “at the end”— for us!! I am certain of this, because the same verse is quoted in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews: “‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith;’ but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul."(Hebrews 10:35-39) So we are still tarrying and the Message that eventually satisfies us, as well as the prophet of God, is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His Judgment on the Chaldeans (world) of all ages.
Here is some of the end-time Message that the LORD makes plain. It rebukes the man who is actually trusting in riches or other worldly comforts, rather than the God of all comfort—the Lord Jesus. This is the opposite of living by faith:
“…Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high that he may be delivered from the power of disaster! You give shameful counsel to your house, cutting off many peoples, and sin against your soul for the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timbers will answer it…. (Habakkuk 2:9-11) Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also-- drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD'S right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, and the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, because of men's blood and the violence of the land and the city, and of all who dwell in it. What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols?.... (Habakkuk 2:15-18) Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!' Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.” (Habakkuk 2:19) This last woe sounds like a rebuke of idols mentioned in the prior woe, but the message also seems to speak a word of warning to evolutionist— "woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!'— to silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!" Then, the Creator of the Universe, even the Lord Jesus Christ, is exalted. “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
In this Good News "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith." We share our faith which helps to encourage faith in others. This is how it works. We plant; others water; but it is Jesus who grants the increase.
Rom 1:18-19 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Faith is passed on to the next generation “from faith to faith”, as it was done orally at first after Creation, and then, since the Exodus, in written Torah, revealing the wrath of God against mankind, as well as His love for us.
“Many people obviously have a hard time reconciling the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament....but it's really not as complicated as it appears. In actuality, it is the same God in both places....the one true God. He is exactly the same today as He was 6000 years ago when He created Adam and Eve. God has not changed one iota.
‘But He endorsed so much violence in the Old Testament against the enemies of Israel....whereas Jesus was so nonviolent. What's up with that?’ Here's what is up with that as explained in the New Testament: ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.’ (Romans 1:18) The ‘wrath of God’ was being revealed in those New Testament days, albeit in a different manner than in the Old Testament. So where was the wrath of God being revealed when the apostle Paul penned these words?
It was revealed in one place primarily....and that was on the cross where the Son of God died. The Gospel was revealed from heaven as the New Testament church began....and ‘the message of the cross’ (1 Cor. 1:18) was a revelation of God's wrath and love. If you want to know how much God hates sin....and how perfectly He abides by His own holiness, just look at the cross and study what happened there. It took the suffering and death of the sinless One in order to bear the wrath of God for sinners like us. We deserved that sentence....but Jesus came and hung in our place, and suffered and died for our sins and for our eternal salvation.” Posted by Robin G. Jordan http://anglicansablaze.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-cross-reveals-gods-wrath-and-love.html
Yet some do not accept the offer of Jesus to be their sin bearer. So the wrath of God still applies, but He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) This wrath will finally be exacted on unredeemed sinners, based on the first promise in the Bible—“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ (Gen 2:15-17) [BUT] “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’” (Gen 3:4) Speaking of the wrath of God in the Old Testament, Paul explained: "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1 Cor 10:11)
We know of the wrath of God supplanted, but at the end-time, the unrepentant shall also discover for themselves that “the wrath of God is part of the righteousness of God.” This concept is “so unnerving to many and distasteful to others that innumerable attempts have been made to avoid the subject. To human beings, who periodically either give way to wrath and feel subsequently embarrassed or are subjected to wrath and feel hurt and humiliated, wrath is a most reprehensible human characteristic. But divine wrath should never be confused with human anger for it contains none of the uncontrolled passion, the unreasonable outburst, or self-vindication that is the ingredients of human wrath.” [The Commentators Commentary]
The unbelieving “suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” “Some see evidence of this in the built-in sense of morality common to all men. Others point to the fact of man’s innate ‘religiousness.’ Calvin wrote, ‘There is no nation so barbarous, no race so brutish as not to be imbued with the conviction there is a God.’” (The Commentator’s commentary) Still others say that what is implied here is the truth of Psalm 19 verse 1— that the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Yet I feel that these things do not speak of “His eternal power and Godhead.” Something more is meant here. It is supplied the next verse:
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Nature does not speak of God’s eternal power and Godhead, but creation does—in stark contrast to evolution— or in a larger sense, the whole story of the creation of the world and the Fall of man and the world-wide flood and all of the stories found in the Jewish Scriptures. These stories reveal Messiah. He can be seen and understood through these stories. The Godhead created the world (Gen 1:1; John 1:3) and said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Gen 1:26). It could have been Jesus: "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Gen 3:8) and who promised to redeem them saying: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (Gen 3:15) He is certainly the Angel of the LORD who appeared to them, as well as the LORD of Hosts who fought their battles for them. He appeared to Israel of old in the flesh. Nature cannot tell you of the mystery of the Godhead, but saints from each generation can. We must partake of these stories Sola Scriptura (Latin "by Scripture alone") meaning with the Bible as “our only infallible and inerrant authority for Christian faith” containing “all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness.”
Jesus told Peter: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:19) Perhaps, there was more to the oral Torah than we have in recorded in cannon, but what we have is “bound in heaven” and it is enough. But there is a group within the church whose beliefs are too close to the world view. They believe science more than Torah. To them, the Bible stories are fables with some good moral lessons at best—nothing more. To others, the stories are not even good. So, both groups have quit telling them as true; and therefore, strife with the world has ceased.
Rom 1: 21-23 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
At the heart of their problem is their image of Jesus. The unregenerate believe that Jesus was just a good man. It can be said of them, as well as other fools in each generation from the beginning of time until now, that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man— and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” He is in truth the unique, only begotten Son of God who became man to take care of the sin problem for those who accept Him. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own [Jews], and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:10-12-13)
Romans 1:24-32 THEREFORE GOD ALSO GAVE THEM UP TO UNCLEANNESS, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. FOR THIS REASON GOD GAVE THEM UP TO VILE PASSIONS. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. AND EVEN AS THEY DID NOT LIKE TO RETAIN GOD IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A DEBASED MIND, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; WHO, KNOWING THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD, THAT THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS ARE DESERVING OF DEATH, NOT ONLY DO THE SAME BUT ALSO APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEM.
Consider the sins in the Text in light of your own sins to discern whether the Lord Jesus has been given His proper due as Lord of Creation and Lord of your life. Or do you also worship idols? Do you love to search the Scriptures for truth? Have you found eternal life through God’s Son?
“It would, perhaps, be more literal to translate… ‘they did not search to retain God in their knowledge.’ They did not examine the evidences before them <Rom. 1:19-20> of His being and attributes…”(Adam Clarke), according to Scriptures. Therefore, Yahweh gave them over to uncleanness, vile passions and debased mind “… (or . reprobate mind,’… to an UNSEARCHING or undiscerning mind… incapable of reflection.” (Adam Clarke) God does not instantly rain fire and brimstone on the heads of the idolaters, but in the immediate: “He did something far more subtle and infinitely more appalling—He gave mankind the absolute right to choose his or her own course of action and then gave him the perfect freedom to live with the consequences...” (J Stuart Briscoe) Bill Bouknight says, God is a gentleman; He does not force Himself on anyone.
“Romans chapter 1 describes the judgment of God in a way not normally understood. We usually comprehend the fact that as a just and holy God, He punishes sin [at the end of time], but… [this text] teaches far more. It teaches that God, in His wrath can abandon a society (turn His back on them), allowing the people to pursue the sin they crave. He gives them up or gives them over to the sin they cherish most. When this happens, this will not merely BRING the wrath of God, it IS the wrath of God.
Romans 1 is a New Testament passage that mirrors many found in the Old Testament that speak of God’s dealings in this way. One such passage is Judges 10: 13, 14 where we read, ‘Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.’ Haunting words, aren’t they?”" http://effectualgrace.com/2012/11/07/god-gave-them-over/
WHO, KNOWING THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD, THAT THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS ARE DESERVING OF DEATH, NOT ONLY DO THE SAME BUT ALSO APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEM. Jesus spoke of the Old Testament Scriptures saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39)
Those with a works-based theology just can’t see it: “But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."(1 Cor 3:15-16) The Father hates sin, but He loves sinners. For all of your sins, “His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” (Isa 5:25 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4) Eternal life is in His Son. And if you trust Jesus to save you, He promises: “I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” (Lev 26:12)