|
Introduction:
“The most
significant theological letter ever written.
Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430), the most
influential of the church fathers, was
converted upon reading Romans 13:13-14.
Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant
Reformation, was studying Romans when he
concluded that faith alone justifies a
person before God. John Wesley, the founder
of Methodism, was converted on May 24, 1738,
upon reading Luther’s introduction to
Romans.” [The Holman Bible Dictionary].
Paul was called to bring the
Gentiles to faith in Jesus Christ!
Romans 1:1-5, “Paul, a servant of Christ
Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set
apart for the gospel of God— the gospel He
promised beforehand through His prophets in
the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who
was a descendant of David according to the
flesh, and who through the Spirit of
holiness was declared with power to be the
Son of God by His resurrection from the
dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and
on behalf of His name, we received grace and
apostleship to call all those among the
Gentiles to the obedience that comes from
faith.”
Note:
“Paul’s mission is to all people groups. His
goal is to bring about the obedience of
faith (cf. Rom. 16:26). Obedience is
required, but it is an obedience that flows
from saving faith and is always connected to
ongoing faith. Although Paul can speak of
people’s initial response as obeying the
gospel (Rom. 10:16), it is unlikely that
“obedience of faith” here refers only to
initial saving faith, because the purpose of
Paul’s apostleship was not merely to bring
people to conversion but also to bring about
transformed lives that were consistently
obedient to God. Paul’s ultimate goal in
preaching to the Gentiles is for the sake of
his name, that is, that Jesus Christ will be
glorified.” [ESV Study Bible: Romans 1:5].
The righteous shall live by
faith!
Romans 1:16-17, “I am not
ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, first to the Jew, then to the
Greek. For the gospel reveals the
righteousness of God that comes by faith
from start to finish, just as it is written:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
God is impartial and
judges everyone according to their works.
Romans 2:6-8, “God “will repay
each one according to his deeds.” To those
who by perseverance in doing good seek
glory, honor, and immortality, He will give
eternal life. But for those who are
self-seeking and who reject the truth and
follow wickedness, there will be wrath and
anger.”
We are judged
according to the knowledge we have.
Romans 2:12-13, “All who sin apart from the
law will also perish apart from the law, and
all who sin under the law will be judged by
the law. For it is not the hearers of the
law who are righteous before God, but it is
the doers of the law who will be declared
righteous.”
Those people who
boast in keeping the law dishonor God.
Romans 2:23-24, “You who boast in the law,
do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As
it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you.”
Our obedience is the
result of the Holy Spirit’s regenerating
work.
Romans 2:26-29, “If a man
who is not circumcised keeps the
requirements of the law, will not his
uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
The one who is physically uncircumcised yet
keeps the law will condemn you who, even
though you have the written code and
circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A man is not
a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is
circumcision only outward and physical. No,
a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly,
and circumcision is a matter of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such
a man’s praise does not come from men, but
from God.”
No one is
righteous in God’s eyes.
Romans 3:10-12, “As
it is written: “There is no one righteous,
not even one. There is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God. All have
turned away, they have together become
worthless; there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
The Law reveals our sinfulness
but cannot fix it. Our justification is
through an act of God’s grace alone.
Romans 3:20, “Therefore no one will be
justified in His sight by works of the law.
For the law merely brings awareness of sin.”
We are justified by faith
in Jesus Christ alone.
Romans 3:21-22,
“But now, apart from the law, the
righteousness of God has been revealed, as
attested by the Law and the Prophets. And
this righteousness from God comes through
faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no distinction,”
We have all sinned and deserve death.
Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,”
Our justification and redemption are freely given.
Romans 3:24-25, “and are
justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God
presented Him as the atoning sacrifice
through faith in His blood, in order to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in
His forbearance He had passed over the sins
committed beforehand.”
We are justified
apart from doing what the law requires.
Romans 3:28, “For we maintain
that a man is justified by faith apart from
works of the law.”
Note: God judges us
according to our deeds (Acts 10:34-35;
Rom. 14:12; 1 Cor. 3:13; Col. 3:25; James 2:18-26;
Rev. 2:23), but
redeems those who put their faith in Christ
alone (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). When Christians
stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it
is to receive their rewards, not to
determine their salvation (Rom. 14:10;
2 Cor. 5:9-10).
We
uphold the law when we put our faith in
Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:31, “Do
we, then, nullify the law by this faith?
Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.”
Righteousness comes by
believing, not by working for our salvation.
Romans 4:3-5, “For what does the Scripture
say? “Abraham believed God, and it was
credited to him as righteousness.” Now the
wages of the worker are not credited as a
gift, but as an obligation. However, to the
one who does not work, but believes in Him
who justifies the wicked, his faith is
credited as righteousness.”
If the Law
could save us then faith would be
irrelevant.
Romans 4:13-15, “For
the promise to Abraham and his offspring
that he would be heir of the world was not
given through the law, but through the
righteousness that comes by faith. For if
those who live by the law are heirs, faith
is useless and the promise is worthless,
because the law brings wrath. And where
there is no law, there is no transgression.”
Sin was in the world before the
law was given to Israel.
Romans 5:13-14 says, “For
sin was in the world before the law was
given; but sin is not taken into account
when there is no law. Nevertheless, death
reigned from Adam until Moses, even over
those who did not sin in the way that Adam
transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to
come.”
Note:
Sin was not imputed until the Law of Moses
was given. Imputed means “to charge to one’s
account,” as by an entry made in a ledger.
In other words, sin was present in the world
from Adam to Moses, but God did not keep an
account of sins before the giving of the Law
because there was no Law to obey or disobey.
Paul was not saying that people were
guiltless without the law, because he had
already said that those without the written
law are still judged by God (Rom. 2:12).
Since people still died they were still
guilty as a consequence of Adam’s sin. They
had transgressed the universal moral
principles written on their consciences
before the Mosaic law was given
(see Romans 2).
The law was given to
increase sin in our lives.
Romans 5:20, “The
law came in so that the trespass would
increase; but where sin increased, grace
increased all the more,”
Christians are not
under the law but under grace.
Romans 6:14-15, “For sin shall not be your
master, because you are not under law, but
under grace. What then? Shall we sin because
we are not under law, but under grace?
Certainly not!”
Note:
The law is not sinful; its purpose is to
convince everyone that they are spiritually
dead in their sin apart from faith in Jesus Christ
(see Rom. 7:7-13).
When we
are in Christ, we are dead to the Old Covenant
law.
Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brothers, you
also died to the law through the body of
Christ, that you might belong to another, to
Him who was raised from the dead, in order
that we might bear fruit to God.”
The Law arouses our sinful
passions and produces fruit leading to
death.
Romans 7:5, “For when we
lived according to the flesh, the sinful
passions aroused by the law were at work in
our bodies, bearing fruit for death.”
Christ’s followers have been released from the
law.
Romans 7:6, “But now,
having died to what bound us, we have been
released from the law, so that we serve in
the new way of the Spirit, and not in the
old way of the written code.”
The
demands of the Law were not evil, but had
the effect of pointing out the sin in human
beings. The Law in question was the law of
the Ten Commandments.
Romans 7:7,
“What then shall we say? Is the law sin?
Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been
mindful of sin if not for the law. For I
would not have been aware of coveting if the
law had not said, “Do not covet.”
Note: The
Mosaic Law, or the Old Covenant was given
specifically to the nation of Israel (Exod. 19;
Lev. 26:46; Rom. 9:4). Christians
live under the New Covenant and are not
under any of the laws of the Old Covenant
(Hebrews 8; 2 Corinthians 3). The Old and the
New Covenants are separate and distinct
covenants given to different people groups
in God’s redemptive history.
The Law increases sin
which produces death.
Romans 7:8, “But
sin, seizing its opportunity through the
commandment, produced in me every kind of
covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin
is dead.”
We die
when we truly understand the requirements of
God’s moral law.
Romans 7:9, “Once
I was alive apart from the law; but when the
commandment came, sin sprang to life and I
died.”
The law makes you
understand that your sinfulness is beyond
measure.
Romans 7:12-20, “So
then, the law is holy, and the commandment
is holy, righteous, and good. Did that which
is good, then, become death to me? Certainly
not! But in order that sin might be exposed
as sin, it produced death in me through what
was good, so that through the commandment
sin might become utterly sinful. We know
that the law is spiritual; but I am
unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do
not understand what I do. For what I want to
do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. And
if I do what I do not want to do, I admit
that the law is good. In that case, it is no
longer I who do it, but it is sin living in
me that does it. I know that nothing good
lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I
have the desire to do what is good, but I
cannot carry it out. For I do not do the
good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing
the evil I do not want to do. And if I do
what I do not want, it is no longer I who do
it, but it is sin living in me that does
it.”
Christians are no
longer condemned by the law.
Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.”
The Old Covenant Law
was a covenant of death.
Romans 8:2, “For
in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of
life set you free from the law of sin and
death.”
Note:
“The word “for” introduces the reason there
is no condemnation for the believer; the
Spirit has replaced the law that produced
only sin and death (Rom. 7:5, 13) with a
new, simple law that produces life: the law
of faith (Rom. 3:27), or the message of
the gospel.” [The MacArthur Study Bible:
Romans 8:2].
We must live by
the Spirit, and not by the law weakened by
the flesh.
Romans 8:3-4, “For
what the law was powerless to do in that it
was weakened by the flesh, God did by
sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus
condemned sin in the flesh, so that the
righteous standard of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit
indwells all of God’s children.
Romans 8:9, “You, however, are controlled
not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the
Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does
not belong to Christ.”
Note:
There are no second-class citizens in God’s
Kingdom! Every believer has the fullness of
God’s Spirit living inside of them from the
moment of their conversion. Paul makes it
unmistakably clear that “the Spirit of God
lives in” every believer (Rom. 8:9).
The presence
of the Holy Spirit within believers
testifies to the new life they enjoy because
of the righteousness of Christ that is now
theirs.
Romans 8:10-11, “But if
Christ is in you, your body is dead because
of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of
righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who
raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit, who lives in you.”
Christians are no
longer slaves to sin but are adopted as sons
and daughters into God’s family.
Romans 8:12-17, “Therefore, brothers, we
have an obligation, but it is not to the
flesh, to live according to it. For if you
live according to the flesh, you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the
deeds of the body, you will live. For all
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of
God. For you did not receive a spirit of
slavery that returns you to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we
cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God’s
children. And if we are children, then we
are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with
Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that
we may also be glorified with Him.”
All the circumstances in a
believer’s life will work
together for their
good.
Romans 8:28, “And we know
that God works all things together for the
good of those who love Him, who are called
according to His purpose.”
Nothing can separate us from God’s love,
nothing!
Romans 8:31-35; 8:37-39, “What then shall we
say in response to these things? If God is
for us, who can be against us? He who did
not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us
all, how will He not also, along with Him,
freely give us all things? Who will bring
any charge against God’s elect? It is God
who justifies. Who is there to condemn us?
For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than
that was raised to life, is at the right
hand of God—and He is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or distress or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger
or sword?. . . No, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor
principalities, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Law has come to
an end for the believer.
Romans 10:4, “For Christ
is the end of the law, to bring
righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Righteousness based on obedience to the law
requires perfect conformity in every detail.
Romans 10:5, “For concerning
the righteousness that is by the law, Moses
writes: “The man who does these things will
live by them” (see also:
Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10-13; James 2:8-10).
The Old
Covenant separated the Jews from Gentiles.
There are no status distinctions among the
New Covenant, people of God.
Romans 10:12, “For there is no difference
between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord
of all, and gives richly to all who call on
Him.” (see also: Gal. 3:28; 5:6; Col. 3:9-11;
Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 12:13).
The Holy Spirit renews and
transforms our minds when we surrender our
lives to Christ on a moment-by-moment basis.
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you,
brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to
offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship. Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what is the good,
pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Note:
“As our Christian life progresses, we should
gradually notice that our thought life is
being changed from Christlessness to
Christlikeness. Transformation does not
happen overnight. Our regeneration is
instantaneous, but our transformation is
continuous. We are conformed to Christ’s
image gradually as we spend time in intimate
fellowship with Him (see 2 Cor. 3:18).”
[The Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible].
Love
fulfills the purpose of the Law.
Romans 13:8-10, “Be indebted to no one,
except to one another in love. For he who
loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
The commandments “Do not commit adultery,”
“Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not
covet,” and any other commandments, are
summed up in this one decree: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to
its neighbor. Therefore love is the
fulfillment of the law.”
No one is
required to keep any of the Holy days or
dietary restrictions from the Old Covenant
Law, including
the weekly seventh day Sabbath.
Romans 14:5-6, “One
person regards a certain day above the
others, while someone else considers every
day alike. Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind. He who observes a
special day does so to the Lord; he who eats
does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to
God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord
and gives thanks to God.”
Note: Romans 14 goes into great
detail concerning issues about food and what
can be eaten. Some commentators say that
this section of scripture is dealing
primarily with fasting days but Israel only
had one required fast on the Day of
Atonement and it required total abstinence
from all food (Lev. 23:27-32). Romans 14:1-2
says “the weak person eats only vegetables.”
This shows clearly that the issue facing the
Roman Church was not fasting, but food that
had been forbidden under the Old Covenant,
or meats sacrificed to an idol in the pagan
temples.
The New Testament explicitly teaches
that Sabbath-keeping along with all of the
other ceremonial requirements of the Old
Covenant Law are not required for Christians
living under the New Covenant
(Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28; Col. 2:14-17;
Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18;
2 Cor. 3:3-11; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25).
We have no right to judge anyone
on how, or if, they keep any of the Old
Covenant laws.
Romans 14:10-12,
“Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or
why do you belittle your brother? For we
will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
It is written: “As surely as I live, says
the Lord, every knee will bow before Me;
every tongue will confess to God.” So then,
each of us will give an account of himself
to God.”
Note: Both Romans 14:10 and
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 speak of God’s “judgment
seat” of Christ. This is a translation of
the Greek word, “bema” which was the
tribunal bench in the Roman courtroom where
the governor sat while rendering judicial
verdicts. Metaphorically it refers to the
place where the Lord will sit to evaluate
believers’ lives for the purpose of giving
them eternal rewards.
The law is
not of faith, and whatever is not of faith
is sin.
Romans 14:23, “But the
one who has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because his eating is not from faith; and
everything that is not from faith is sin.” (also:
Gal. 3:12)
Stronger Christians’ have
an obligation to care for the weaker
believers.
Romans 15:1-5, “We who are
strong ought to bear with the shortcomings
of the weak and not to please ourselves.
Each of us should please his neighbor for
his good, to build him up. For even Christ
did not please Himself, but as it is
written: “The insults of those who insult
You have fallen on Me.” For everything that
was written in the past was written for our
instruction, so that through endurance and
the encouragement of the Scriptures, we
might have hope. Now may the God who gives
endurance and encouragement grant you
harmony with one another in Christ Jesus.”
Note: The word “bear”
means “to pick up and carry a weight.” “It
is used of carrying a pitcher of water
(Mark 14:13), of carrying a man (Acts 21:35), and
figuratively of bearing an obligation
(Acts 15:10). The strong are not to simply
tolerate the weaknesses of their weaker
brothers; they are to help the weak shoulder
their burdens by showing loving and
practical consideration for them (Gal. 6:2;
cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Phil. 2:2-4).” [The
MacArthur Study Bible: Romans 15:1].
Christ, the hope of both Jews and
Gentiles.
Romans 15:8-13, “For I
tell you that Christ has become a servant of
the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to
confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His
mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will
praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing
hymns to Your name.” Again, it says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And
again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and extol Him, all you peoples.” And once
more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will
appear, One who will arise to rule over the
Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their
hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so
that you may overflow with hope by the power
of the Holy Spirit.”
Paul was
called by Christ to minister to the Gentiles.
Romans 15:14-16, “I myself am convinced, my
brothers, that you yourselves are full of
goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able
to instruct one another. However, I have
written you a bold reminder on some points,
because of the grace God has given me to be
a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in the priestly service of the gospel of
God, so that the Gentiles might become an
offering acceptable to God, sanctified by
the Holy Spirit.”
Note:
“Jesus Christ became a servant to the Jews
for two purposes: (1) to confirm God’s
promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and
(2) to demonstrate God’s mercy to the
Gentiles so that they might glorify Him.
Paul cites four passages from the Old
Testament to prove that God intended the
Gentiles as well as the Jews to glorify Him.
as it is written: Paul quotes from all three
divisions of the Old Testament (the Law, the
Prophets, and the Psalms or Writings), and
from three great Jewish leaders (Moses,
David, and Isaiah), to demonstrate that
God’s purpose was always to bless the
Gentiles through Israel. Although the nation
of Israel has been set aside for the present
(see Rom. 11:1-31), both Jews and Gentiles
are being brought together in the church
(see Rom. 3:1-12; Eph. 2:14-22).” [Nelson’s
NKJV Study Bible: Romans 15:8-13].
Paul’s
final instructions and greetings.
Romans 16:17-18, “Now I urge you, brothers,
to watch out for those who create divisions
and obstacles that are contrary to the
teaching you have learned. Turn away from
them. For such people are not serving our
Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By
smooth talk and flattery they deceive the
hearts of the naive.”
Note:
“Contentious, divisive people can cause
others to stumble, so they should be
avoided. Paul teaches this type of church
discipline in his other letters (see 1 Cor. 5:9-13;
2 Thess. 3:6; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 3:10).”
[Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible: Romans 16:17].
The main theme of Romans was to teach the
great truths of the gospel of grace to
believers who had never received apostolic
instruction. In the cross of Christ, God
judges sin and yet at the same time
manifests his saving mercy.
The Law was powerless to produce
righteousness in us (Rom. 3:20-21), and
could not deliver us from the penalty of
death (Rom. 7:12-20; cf. Gal. 3:10;
Acts 13:38, 39). God imputes Christ’s
righteousness to our account when we accept
Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (Rom. 10:9-13;
2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9).
Note: Imputation is a “transfer of
benefit or harm from one individual to
another. In theology imputation may be used
negatively to refer to the transfer of the
sin and guilt of Adam to the rest of
humankind. Positively, imputation refers to
the righteousness of Christ being
transferred to those who believe on him for
salvation.” [see: The Pocket Dictionary of
Theological Terms]
When someone says you have
to keep the Old Covenant law they are
preaching the false gospel of
works-righteousness that Paul warned the
Romans and the Galatians about. We have been
set free from “the law of sin and death” to
live by God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:1-4).
As a Christ-follower, we can only experience
freedom from the law’s curse when we trust
that it is Christ alone who justifies us. It
is Christ, not the law, that gives us
freedom from the power of sin and death by
giving us a new nature.
Remember who you are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:16-17 says, “The
Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God’s children. And if we are
children, then we are heirs: heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer
with Him, so that we may also be glorified
with Him.”
When we are
justified by Christ we are empowered to
serve God and our fellow man through the
power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. It
is Christ’s death on the cross that
justifies us. His crucifixion dealt with the
problem of human sin forever. Because of
what Christ has done for us, we can have
complete assurance that our sins have been
forgiven, past, present, and future! When we
trust in Jesus Christ alone for our
salvation, we become his new creations,
“created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10).
Accepting the false gospel
of legalism can only lead you to death.
|
