ROMANS 1
&&&
Paul’s Life Prior to Romans 1
Paul's later life
It is generally
accepted that Paul was acquitted, about 63 or
64 A D. Whether he went on to Spain, as he had planned, Rom
15:28, is not known. Tradition indicates that he did. But if
he
did. he did not remain long. It seems certain that he was
back in Greece and Asia Minor about 65 to 67 AD, in which
period he wrote the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Then, re-
arrested, he was taken back to Rome, and beheaded about 67 A
D.
See further page 528.
Summary of Paul's Life
With
Tentative Approximate Dates
Paul first appears as
a persecutor of Christians, resolutely deter-
mined to blot out the name of Jesus._No doubt he thought the
Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead was a fixed up story.
Then, on the road to
Damascus. as by a stroke from heaven, he
was smitten down. Jesus Himself spoke to him, about 32 AD.
From that moment he
was a Changed Man. With zeal and devo-
tion unparalleled in history, he went up and. down the
highways
of the Roman Empire crying out, Jesus Did Rise from the
Dead,
It is True, It is True, IT IS TRUE, He is Risen, He is
Risen,
HE IS RISEN.
n Damascus they
tried to kill him. He went into Arabia. Then
back to Damascus. Then returned to Jerusalem, about 35 AD.
They tried to kill him. Then he went to Tarsus.
In Antioch, about 42
to 44 A D. Went up to Jerusalem, about 44
A D, with an offering of money for the poor.
FIRST MISSIONARY
JOURNEY, about 45 to 48 A D. Galatia: Písidian
Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. Returned to Antioch.
Conference at
Jerusalem about Gentile Circumcision, about
50 A D.
SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY, about 50-53 A D: Greece:
Philippi,
Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth: return to Jerusalem,
Antioch.
THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY, about 54-57 AD: Ephesus, Greece.
To Jerusalem, 58 A D,
with great, offering of money.
In Caesarea, 58-60 A
D, a prisoner in the governor’s castle.
?? FOURTH MISSIONARY JOURNEY ??
In Rome, 61-63 A D, a prisoner. Here the book of Acts ends.
Back in Greece and
Asia Minor, about 65-66 A D.
Beheaded in Rome,
about 67 A D.
His ministry lasted
about 35 years. In those 35 years he won
vast multitudes to Christ.
At times God helped
him with Miracles. In almost every city
he was persecuted. Again and again they mobbed him, and
tried
to kill him. He was beaten, scourged, imprisoned, stoned,
driven
from city to city. On top of all this, his “thorn in’ the
flesh”,
II Cor 12. His sufferings are almost unbelievable. He must
have
had a constitution like iron. God must have used
supernatural
power to keep him alive.
&&&
ROMANS
Fundamental Nature of Christ’s Work
Basis of
Man’s Standing before his Creator
Paul was chosen of God to be the chief expounder of the Gos—
pel to the world, and his Epistle to the Romans is Paul's
com—
pletest explanation of his understanding of the Gospel.
Coleridge
calls it, “The most profound work in existence."
Date and
Occasion of the Epistle
Winter of 57-58 A D. Paul was in Corinth, at the close of.
his
Third Missionary Journey, on the eve of his departure to
Jeru
salem with the offering of money for the poor saints.
15:22-27.
A woman named Phoebe, of Cenchreae, a suburb of Corinth,
was sailing for Rome, 16:1,2. Paul availed himself of the
oppor—
‘tunity to send this letter by her. There was no postal
service in
the Roman Empire except for official business. Public Postal
Service as we know it is of modem origin. Then personal
letters
had to be carried by friends or chance travelers.
Purpose of The Epistle
To let the Roman Christians know that he was on his way to
Rome. Then, too, this was before God had told Paul that He
would see him to
Rome, Acts 23:11. and Paul did not as yet
feel sure that he
would get away from Jerusalem alive, Rom
15:31: in which case,
it seemed proper that he, the Apostle to
Gentiles, should leave
on file, in the Capital of the World. a
Written explanation
of the Nature of the Gospel of Christ.
The Church In Rome
Paul had" not
yet been there. He reached Rome three years
after he wrote this
Epistle. The nucleus of the Roman Church
probably had been
formed by the Romans who were at Jeru-
salem on the Day of
Pentecost, Acts 2:10.
In the intervening 28
years many Christians, from various parts
of the East, for one
cause or another, had migrated to the
Capital City, some of
them Paul's own converts and intimate
friends, see Ch 16.
&&&
Background of the Epistle
Common Jewish Belief
in the Finality of Mosaic Law as the
expression of the Will of God, and of Universal Obligation,
and.
Jewish insistence that Gentiles who would be Christians must
be
Circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Thus the question
whether a Gentile could be a Christian without becoming a
Jewish Proselyte was. one of the great problems of the time.
Christianity started as a Jewish Religion, and certain
powerful
Jewish leaders were determined it should remain so. Circum—
cision was a physical rite which stood as the initial
ceremony in.
Jewish naturalization of Gentiles.
Paul’s Main Insistence
In this Epistle is
that Man’s Justification before God rests
fundamentally, not on the Law of Moses, but on the Mercy of
Christ. It is not a matter of Law at all, because Man, on
account
of his Sinful Nature, cannot fully live up to God’s Law,
which is
an expression of God’s Holiness. But it is wholly because
Christ,
out of the Goodness of His Heart, Forgives Men's Sins. In
the
last analysis, Man's Standing before God depends, not so
much
on what Man has done, or can do, for himself, as on what
Christ
has done for him. And therefore Christ is entitled to the
Abso-
lute and Whole-Hearted Allegiance and Loyalty and. Devotion
and Obedience of Every Human Being.
CHAPTERS 1 and 2
Chapters 1,2.
Universal Need of The Gospel
Universal Sinfulness
of Mankind, 1:1-32. The first sentence is
a long one, 1-7, summarizing Paul's life: Jesus, Foretold in
Prophecy, Risen from the Dead, commissioned Paul to Preach
Him to All Nations.
Paul’s long time
desire to come to Rome, 9-15, hindered by
evangelized fields elsewhere, 15:20.
Not ashamed of the
Gospel, 16, even in Rome, the gilded and
haughty cesspool of every foul thing. The terrible DepraVity
of.
Man, pictured in 18—32, had reached its depths in Rome,
specially
the sexual practices of 26,27.
Jews Included,
2:1—29. Paul’s frightful picture of Man's Sinful-
ness is true of the Jews also, even though they were God's
own
nation, for they practice the sins common to mankind.
Whosoever, 1,
includes every one of us. Not that every one
does All the things mentioned in 1:29-31..That is a picture
of the
race as a whole. But each one of us is guilty of some of the
things there mentioned.
”
The Day when God
shall Judge the Secrets of Men, 2:16. In
That Day, the test will be, not race, not whether one is a
Jew
or a Gentile, but the Inner Nature of the Heart and its
attitude
toward the Practices of Life.
&&&
&&&
Romans Chapter 1 New International Version (NIV)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand
through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his
earthly life[a] was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of
holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the
dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to
call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s
sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus
Christ.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his
holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,
because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in
my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I
remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by
God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some
spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually
encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers
and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been
prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among
you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the
wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to
you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew,
then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is
revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is
written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]
God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against
all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their
wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God
has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s
invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a
mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of
their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one
another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and
served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In
the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men,
and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to
retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that
they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind
of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things
deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve
of those who practice them.
Footnotes:
Romans 1:3 Or who according to the flesh
Romans 1:4 Or was declared with power to be the Son of God
Romans 1:5 Or that is
Romans 1:13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters
(adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s
family; also in 7:1, 4; 8:12, 29; 10:1; 11:25; 12:1; 15:14, 30; 16:14, 17.
Romans 1:17 Or is from faith to faith
Romans 1:17 Hab. 2:4
&&&
Romans Chapter 2 New International Version (NIV)
God’s Righteous Judgment
2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on
someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself,
because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s
judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a
mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you
think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches
of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is
intended to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person
according to what they have done.”[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing
good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for
those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will
be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being
who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and
peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11
For God does not show favoritism.
12 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. 13 For it
is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those
who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who
do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law
for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the
requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also
bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times
even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges
people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
The Jews and the Law
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the
law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior
because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a
guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of
the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the
embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not
teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say
that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor
idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by
breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you.”[b]
25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you
break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So
then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they
not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not
circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though
you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision
merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written
code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Footnotes:
Romans 2:6 Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12
Romans 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see Septuagint); Ezek. 36:20,22
Romans 2:27 Or who, by means of a
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright
©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights
reserved worldwide.
Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN. © 1927 - 1959.
Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN. © 1927 - 1959.
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