IntroductionThe epistle of Paul to the Roman church is one of the primary works by which the LORD has shown Himself as “a revealer of secrets” (Dan 2:47) in these last days. So, I must give a Word of caution. Do not be quick to deem things taught therein as archaic or foolish; for if you build “precept be upon precept, here a little and there a little,” you might find that the Gospel presented is the power of God unto your salvation. (1 Cor 1:18) D. Stuart Briscoe quotes F. F. Bruce saying: “’Time and again in the course of Christian history it has liberated the minds of men, brought them back to an understanding of the essential Gospel of Christ, and started spiritual revolutions.’” Can you think of anyone who was touched by this Book?
One of those liberated minds belongs to Augustine, who is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s most influential theologians. One day as he wept under a fig tree, in deep distress of soul desperately convicted of his own sinfulness, he heard a young child singing, “Take up and read.” … turning to a copy of Paul’s writings which lay nearby he opened it and read, “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and wantonness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfilled its lusts.” (Romans 13:13-14) He believed and obeyed, and the great mind was liberated for the glory of God and the good of mankind.
Centuries later Martin Luther, the serious, ardent scholar of Wittenberg, came under the influence of Romans and his life was also transformed. As he delivered a series of lectures on the epistle, he grasped for the first time what he called “the righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith.” His explanation of the experience bears repeating. “Therefore I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.” This liberating discovery lead him not only into the peace for which he had searched so long, but also into a ministry that changed the face of Europe and the fate of thousands.
John Wesley, whose cultured mind was matched only by his spiritual sensitivity, servant attitude and social concern, returned to England from Savannah, Georgia, a discouraged man. He had run into rough waters in his dealings with the colonialist, and he encountered even more troubled seas on the voyage home. Both experiences led him to the awesome discovery that he had no assurance of his acceptability to the God he loved and served. In this frame of mind he went rather reluctantly, to a meeting where Luther’s preface to the epistle to the Romans was being read, and during the reading his heart “felt strangely warmed.” He recorded in his journal, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given to me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Armed with this message he embarked on forty years of ministry that beggars description and gladdens the hearts. So mightily did the Spirit of God use him that revivals blazed in England and America throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the course of history was changed. [The Communicator’s Commentary]
““Fredrick Louis Godet was not exaggerating when he stated in his classic Commentary on Romans, ‘The probability is that every great spiritual revival in the church will be connected as effect and cause with a deeper understanding of this book.’ And John Calvin of Geneva was no less enthusiastic when he wrote, ‘When anyone gains a knowledge of this Epistle he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden Treasures.’” [CC] D. Stuart Briscoe adds this concerning the Gospel’s relevance to our generation:
The modern reader might be tempted to wonder if an Epistle of such antiquity, while eminently suited to Rome in the first century and even to the days of Reformation in Europe and Revival in England and America, might not be irrelevant to the contemporary world. To this we can only reply by pointing out that the timeless truths of God’s eternal Word are always relevant. And we might add that the particular condition of modern society indicates a special need for restatement of the Truths outlined in Romans.
For instance, contemporary society has divorced itself so completely from divine revelation that it has little or no concept of the reality of God’s person. Many who believe He exists have a picture of Him that ranges from outright bizarre to downright blasphemous, while those who choose to believe He does not exist are beginning to wallow in the morass of their own making. Modern man’s love affair with himself has produced such incredible self-centeredness that we are now called the “me-first generation” or the “narcissistic society.” Such has been the emphasis on human rights that uncomfortable subjects like personal responsibility have been shelved. Modern man’s inbred feeling that he has every reason to expect happiness to be his abiding experience has produced an inordinate desire for that which is “comfortable, popular and profitable.” Anything that gets in the way of these cherished desires must be banished at all costs. That which is “good and true and right” must be of necessity discarded if it interferes with the ultimate goal of human happiness.
The Bible is the record of revelations of a loving Father to his children—Israel. Israel of old was to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” just as those who believe in Jesus are to be (Exod 19:6; 1 Pet 2:9), but the LORD told Hosea: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6) Isaiah asked: “Whom will He teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?” (Isa 28:9) In the Bible, milk is a picture of easy precepts like “Jesus love you.” The land of Canaan is said to be a “land flowing with milk and honey.” (Exod 3:8) But the disciple, Israel, has a portion of “solid food” (harder sayings) apportioned to him or her. (Heb 5:13-14) The Book of Romans contains that very serving of firm Truth. In fact, it is the most complete exposition of the Old Testament in the light of the Christ. So, prepare for a refreshing of the Holy Spirit as the LORD applies the precepts therein to your heart— “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people, To whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,’ and, ‘This is the refreshing’; yet they would not hear.” (Isa 28:10-12)