Since most of the Christians in the church in Rome had never heard = Paul=20 preach, however, he wrote this letter in which he set forth the gospel = as he=20 preached it. The result is the most complete and logical presentation = of the=20 gospel found in the N.T. Herschel H. Hobbs wrote "Christianity is = debtor=20 beyond measure for this work from the heart and mind of the greatest = of all=20 the interpreters of Christ and the gospel."

Paul was writing to a church he had neither founded nor visited. = While=20 there, he hoped to not only enjoy fellowship with the Christians but = also to=20 enlist their support for his proposed mission to Spain. Earlier the = church at=20 Antioch had provided support for the envangelization of the areas = around the=20 Aegean Sea. Now feeling that his work in the East was drawing to a = close, Paul=20 wanted Rome’s support for the westward expansion of his = missionary labors.=20

The letter is written primarily to pave the way for his intended = visit. If=20 he invites their support of his mission in Spain, he feels that they = have a=20 right first to know from his own testimony the substance of his = teaching, to=20 be assured that they can support him wholeheartedly. Thus in this, the = most=20 important of his letters, Paul gave us the fifth gospel of the N.T. =

Paul was headed to Jerusalem with an offering he had received from = the=20 Gentile churches. Paul knew that this was a dangerous mission: = therefore, he=20 asked the Romans to pray for the success of this crucial mission. He = said that=20 after that Mission, he hoped to come to Rome, spend time with them, = and then=20 go to Spain.

No writer in the N.T. conveys a greater understanding of the grace = of God,=20 than Paul does. And in none of his letter has he given so full and = orderly a=20 statement of it as in Romans. After some introductory words of = greeting and=20 thanksgiving in Vs. 1-17, Paul immediately launched into an analysis = of man’s=20 spiritual condition. Paul held that all men have sinned and are guilty = before=20 God. Against the dark background of this indictment, he presented the = good=20 news of God’s deliverance through Jesus Christ in 3:21 to = 8:39.

Paul began his letter in Vs. 1 by affirming that he was "called to = be an=20 apostle, set apart for the gospel of God." Now here, in Vs. 14-15 he = gave=20 further evidence of his sense of divine call. He regarded himself a = debtor to=20 all men, "Both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to = the=20 foolish. These are broad categories, both ethnic and cultural. They = suggest=20 the range of he mission to which he was committed. Greeks = refers to=20 actual Greeks and to those who spoke the Greek language, which was = just about=20 everyone in the Roman Empire. The conquests of Alexander the Great had = spread=20 the Greek language and culture far and wide.

Barbarians were those who did not speak Greek. They were not = savages. Thus=20 these two categories included everyone. The wise and the = unwise=20 refers to people of different educational levels. This also = includes=20 everyone. Since God is not willing for anyone to perish, Paul was = committed to=20 tell the good news to everyone whom he could reach with the = message.

He did not do this reluctantly but eagerly and joyfully. The word = ready=20 can be translated "eager." What is the meaning of the words "as = much as=20 in me is?" These words refer to Paul’s personal willingness = to do what the=20 Lord wills to be done. It is like saying that he was totally committed = to do=20 his part in telling the good news. His real debt of love was owed to = the Lord,=20 and telling the good news to others could pay this debt. Paul could = sing:

But drops of grief can ne’re repay

The debt of love I owe;’

Here Lord, I give myself away,

‘Tis all that I can do.

One who is a debtor owes something to another. The kind of = obligation that=20 Paul felt could be discharged only as he preached the gospel to as = many as=20 possible. (See 1 Cor. 9:19-23.) Thus Paul declared in Vs. 15 his = eagerness to=20 proclaim the good news of God’s grace in Rome also.

When we think of indebtedness, it is not likely that our minds = incline in=20 the direction Paul described here. Rather we think of the bills that = have=20 stacked up because of loss of employment or prolonged illness or = unwise=20 spending. The bills are burdensome, and their discharge signals = relief, the=20 removal of something. But every time that Paul got out of debt, a = person was=20 added to God’s family of grace. It provided the occasion for = rejoicing, not=20 mere relief. Thus Jesus assured in Luke 15:10, "Even so, I tell you, = there is=20 joy before the angels of God’ over one sinner who repents."

The word "gospel" means, "to tell good news." Most of us cannot = keep good=20 news to ourselves. When something good happens to us, we want to share = it with=20 others. If the good news involves benefiting others, we have further=20 motivation to tell the good news.

The reason Paul was not ashamed of the gospel was "it is the power = of God=20 for salvation, to every-one who has faith, to the Jew first and also = to the=20 Greek." In Romans 1:2-4 Paul introduced two important features of the = gospel:=20 (1) It is the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises: and (2) it = centers in the=20 person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our risen Lord. In 1:16 he = indicated=20 another reason, namely, its power.

Power translates dynamis from which we get our word=20 dynamite. Some people excuse heir reaction of Christ by = saying,=20 "I can’t live the Christian life. "This is true. None of us = can—in our own=20 strength. Being saved, however, opens our lives to the presence and = power of=20 the Spirit of the Lord. He provides the power to set us free from sin = and to=20 overcome it in our daily life.

The concept of the gospel as God’s power should communicate = well in our=20 day. We are a power-conscious people, and ours is a power-conscious = world. So=20 often, though, men tend to measure power in terms of the capacity to = destroy.=20 Yet creation is the measure for power, and that’s what the = gospel is all=20 about. Grace is more than a biblical word. It is the ultimate power at = work in=20 the moral realm of our world today.

The meaning of Paul’s statement with respect to the gospel is = found in Rom.=20 1:17. "In it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith, for = faith; as=20 it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live." = To be sure, God=20 is righteous; however righteousness is more than the disclosure of one = aspect=20 of God’s nature.

Over 40 years ago C.H. Dodd advised, "But always = ‘righteousness’ is not=20 primarily an attribute of God or of His people, but an activity = whereby the=20 right is asserted in the deliverance of man from the power of evil." = More=20 recently Alan Richardson has written, "There is a close connection in = biblical=20 thought between salvation and righteousness; indeed, the terms become=20 virtually synonymous, for they both denote the same outgoing quality = of the=20 divine character.

In Jesus Christ His Son=B8 God has acted to deliver men, to put = them right=20 with Himself. We experience what God’s grace has made possible = through a=20 trusting commitment of our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord. The gospel = is an=20 evangel; it is faith all the way.

Paul found support for this idea in the O.T.; he cited Habakkuk = 2:4. The=20 Revised Standard Version translates Rom. 1:17, "He who through faith = is=20 righteous shall live." The King James Version reads "the just shall = live by=20 faith." This has been called the text of Romans. This was the verse = that=20 opened the windows of heaven for Martin Luther. Like Paul he had = thought that=20 salvation is based on merit or good works. He studied Galatians and = Romans,=20 and these words made the difference.

Formerly Luther had thought of the righteousness of God only = as=20 God’s justice demanding punishment for human’s sins. = Luther wrote: "Night and=20 day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God = and the=20 statement that "the just shall live by his faith." Then I grasped that = the=20 justice of God is that righteousness by which grace and sheer mercy of = God=20 justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and = to have=20 gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on = new=20 meaning." It was this verse that literally sparked, in Martin = Luther’s mind=20 and heart, the Protestant Reformation.

Vs. 18-32 sets forth Paul’s charge against the Gentile world. = Observe the=20 pattern he followed: (1) In Vs. 18-20, Paul described God’s = revelation to the=20 Gentiles. This revelation established the basic ground of their = responsibility=20 before God. (2) In Vs. 21-23, 25, 28, He showed how they had rejected = God’s=20 disclosure of Himself to them. The pagans had given to self and the = lower=20 orders of creation the place that rightly belonged to God as Creator. = They had=20 rebelled against Him. (3) Then Paul, in Vs, 24-32, portrayed the = judgment that=20 had come upon the Gentiles in the form of God’s wrath. God had = given them up=20 to lives of degradation as the result of their free choice. The result = of this=20 divine abandonment, so dreadfully at work in their midst, was = God’s revelation=20 also.

Never has the evil in the world been probed more profoundly than by = Paul in=20 this passage. We may well see Paul describing the sins he witnessed or = knew=20 about in Corinth from where he was writing. This passage is a form of=20 open-heart surgery that some people will choose not to witness. It is = bound to=20 offend some people whose analysis of individual and social wrong rises = out of=20 a high opinion of mankind’s basic goodness. In the essence of = what it affirms=20 Rom. 1:18-20 is as up-to-date as your next heartbeat or = tomorrow’s headlines.=20 The modern world has an urgent need to note its penetrating insights. =

I am certain you have heard someone raise the following question. = "If a=20 person lives and dies in some remote part of the earth without ever = seeing a=20 Bible or hearing the name of Jesus, will he or she be lost in hell?" = The=20 question implies that if such a situation is true then God is = unjust.

The only source from which to answer that question is the Bible. = And it’s=20 answer is "yes." It also denies that God is unjust. Our Scripture = passages=20 tell us why this is true. For God has left us with no excuse for = holding=20 otherwise. This is because He has revealed Himself to humanity. And He = deals=20 with all persons in light of how each one responds to that revelation. =

The key word in Vs. 18 is wrath. This verse states summarily = what=20 the remainder of the passage spells out in detail. It declares the = reality of=20 God’s wrath that, like His righteousness of Vs. 17, is a dynamic = force in the=20 lives of men. As seen in the previous verses, the righteousness of God = is=20 being revealed in the world through the preaching of the gospel. God = seeks to=20 make men right with Himself and to deliver them from the power and = effect of=20 Sin’s bondage. Through faith in Jesus Christ men experience now = the foretaste=20 of God’s salvation and await full deliverance on the last = day.

Similarly the wrath of God is a work in the world. God reveals = himself now=20 in His judgment upon all the ungodly who suppress the truth. He seeks = to=20 dissuade them from this disastrous course by handing them over to = their sin’s=20 consequences. When men rebel against God, they experience now the = foretaste of=20 God’s wrath, the full manifestation of what awaits the final = judgment.

Both the righteousness and the wrath of God are being revealed now. = The=20 former delivers the repentant from sin, and the latter delivers the=20 unrepentant to sin. In a real sense the mercy of God is operating in = both=20 revelations. Through each, God seeks to prompt men to repentance and = faith and=20 thus make right their relationship to Him. Sometimes men are not ready = for the=20 revelation of God’s righteousness through deliverance until they = have=20 experienced the wrath of God through degradation. They show no concern = for=20 God’s free grace until they have tasted sin’s disgrace. To = many the words=20 "salvation" and "judgment" will sound like the eleven o’clock = chimes on Sunday=20 morning until some jolt alerts them to the fact of their own = dying.

You should read Rom. 1:21-32 to see how God’s wrath works in = individual=20 lives and in human society. Notice the words "gave them up (over) in = Vs.=20 24,26,28. These key verses show how God allowed sinners to reap what = they=20 sowed. The result was immoral perversion and social chaos. In = first-century=20 society homosexuality became popular and social chaos was common. = These sins=20 were evidences of the wrath of God allowing the people of that day to = reap the=20 harvest of their own sinful choices. However, both the present and = future=20 wrath of God is God’s personal wrath, not just the working out = of some=20 impersonal law, built into the fabric of the universe.

The truth is that we dislike Vs. 18 because we have sentimentalized = our=20 conception of God in a quiet un-biblical way. Wrath—the strong = and continuous=20 reaction of the holy God against evil in every shape and form—a = wrath=20 operative now and not only at the Last Judgment, is an essential part = of any=20 truly biblical idea of God.

It is customary to stress God’s saving righteousness as the = heart of the=20 gospel. This is a true concept. But to overlook His wrath is to omit a = vital=20 part of the gospel. Indeed, it is to study only one aspect of the good = news.=20 If we study the whole gospel we cannot ignore God’s wrath = against sin. It is=20 against the dark backdrop of sin and God’s wrath against it that = the saving=20 righteousness of God appears all the more glorious.

We are not to think of God’s wrath in terms of our own = peevish displays of=20 bad temper. Instead it is the conflict of God’s holiness with = all that would=20 distort and destroy His creation. It is His firm stand against all sin = and=20 rebellion. God Judges as He judges because He loves as He loves. The = more=20 conditioned one has become by the permissiveness of our time, the less = capacity he has to understand this biblical truth. Permissiveness = pretends to=20 be "super-love," when actually it refuses to run the risks of costly = love.=20 There is a great difference between indulgence and forgiveness. As=20 righteousness is not an attribute but an action of God, so God’s = wrath is not=20 an emotion of God but His law in operation.

At this point, in Vs. 19-20, Paul began to spell out in detail the = charge=20 made against the pagan world as summarized in the preceding Vs. 18. = First, He=20 had to state the grounds of the Gentiles’ responsibility before = God. He did=20 this by showing that God had made available to them a valid knowledge = of=20 Himself through nature: "What can be known about God is plain to them, = because=20 God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His = invisible=20 nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly = perceived in the=20 things that have been made; So that they are without excuse. (see also = Acts=20 14:15-17)

Revelation is self-disclosure, and is essential to knowledge = between=20 persons. These verses affirm that God has taken the first step in = seeking to=20 address the people of the pagan world. Through nature He has sought to = reveal=20 to them His eternal power and deity. What is clearly seen is that God = is God=20 and not man. Observation of created life is sufficient to show that = creation=20 does not provide the key to its own existence.

God reveals enough of Himself through the medium of nature to lead = man to=20 honor Him as God. No one has ever had less than this ground as his = basis for=20 knowing God. Man’s responsibility before God is based upon his = response to the=20 revelation that God has made available to him. Ps. 19:1 reads "The = heavens are=20 telling the glory of God: and the firmament proclaims His handiwork." = The=20 sense of Vs. 18-20 is that all people have received a knowledge of = God. It is=20 clear to their inner moral sense. Nature is the teacher, the soul of = man is=20 the pupil. Yet for some men the only thing that the heavens tell is = whether or=20 not tomorrow will be a good day to plant potatoes or go fishing. There = is=20 therefore no possible defense for their conduct.

Men are as capable of rejecting God’s revelation in nature as = they are of=20 rejecting His revelation in Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Browning expressed = this=20 idea in four graphic lines.

Earth’s crowned with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes—

The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.

PLEASE TURN TO ROMANS 2: 17-20

Highly visible in the first century was the lostness of the Gentile = world.=20 That world’s lostness is described in Rom. 1: 18-32. The 21 = vices Paul cited=20 in vs. 29-31 spell out in letters large enough for all to see the = depravity of=20 pagan society. They provide one of the most dismal portrayals ever = penned of=20 the downward potential of human nature. The climax of pagan = degradation is=20 described in Rom. 1:32.

There is another kind of lostness more difficult to recognize. This = is true=20 because it has a religious appearance. For instance it may express = moral=20 indignation against the sins of society at large. Assuming a stance = beside the=20 throne of God, it affirms the justice of the divine wrath that = abandons men to=20 the consequence of their sins. Surely, those who approve God’s = judgment upon=20 the wicked must be His people.

Again, the difficulty of recognizing this form of lostness mounts = as the=20 pretense takes over the role of religious teacher. Does not a = missionary=20 concern for others confirm a right relationship with God? It is almost = unthinkable that such expressions of religious devotion should rise = from=20 hearts that are hard and impenitent before God. Yet this was the = charge that=20 Paul brought against the Jews, His own people in Romans 2:1 to 3:20. = The=20 lostness of the reprobate and the lostness of the religious are but = different=20 forms of the same alienation from God.

In Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew said, = ‘They who are=20 the seed of Abraham according to the flesh shall in any case, even if = they be=20 sinners and unbelieving and disobedient towards God, share in the = eternal=20 kingdom.

That’s a tragic distortion of what it means to be the people = of God! This=20 is not faith in God. It is presumption upon God, as it must always be = when the=20 people expect indulgence for themselves of sin that He punishes others = for. In=20 fact such hypocrisy presumes upon or treats with contempt the great = kindness,=20 forbearance, and patience of God.

God’s great kindness, forbearance and patience was intended = by God to lead=20 the Jews to repentance, Instead it led them to presume upon his mercy = and=20 assume a privileged status with regard to divine judgment. This = concept was=20 treading upon the mercy of God. While claiming to glory in God’s = kindness=20 toward them, the Jews actually treated it with contempt.

Paul brought all men, Gentiles as well as Jews under the law of = God. All,=20 not just the Jews, were given God’s law, although in different = ways—the one on=20 the tables of stone at Sinai, the other by having it written on their=20 hearts—and all, not just the Gentiles, will come into judgment. =

As a Jew Paul was well acquainted with the pride of a favored = religious=20 heritage. In Gal. 1: 13-14 he wrote of his own accomplishments. = Against this=20 background of personal experience, it is interesting to observe the = features=20 of Jewish pride that Paul counted in Rom. 2: 17-20. One gets the = feeling that=20 even the staunchest Jewish readers must have begun to squirm as Paul = stacked=20 one clause upon another. Paul used a roll call of Jewish boasts to set = up his=20 fellow Jews for the censure found in Vs. 21-24.