TOMS: Romans 3

For an introduction to this series, click here.

July 4, 2007

This chapter continues the theme of the righteousness of God. This chapter has some of the most profound statements about God's righteousness and man's sinfulness found anywhere in Scripture.

First of all, he continues the discussion of the differences between Jews and Gentiles. Paul says that there was an advantage to being a Jew, since they had the law of God. Just because some of them did not live by it, which was apparently troubling to the Roman church, did not mean the law was worthless. 

Next Paul describes, using quotations from the Old Testament, the utter sinfulness of man: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.' 'Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.' 'The venom of asps is under their lips.' 'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.' 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.' 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" (3:10-18)

Now if you look up these verses, some of them seem to be taken out of context. Does that mean that what Paul wrote is untrue? Of course not. As an apostle, Paul had the right to use those passages and use them to fit his purpose of establishing church doctrine. Now does that mean that we have the right to do the same thing with the scripture? No, it does not. Paul had special authority as an apostle and as an inspired writer of the Word of God. We need to be very careful to examine what the Scripture means and live our lives by it as best we can.

Next Paul presents one of the clearest presentation of what the Gospel means anywhere in scripture: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." (3:21-25)

Now we use verse 23, about all having sinned and fallen short of God's glory, as a verse to tell those who are not saved that they are sinners. But the reality is that verse is only a small portion of Paul's argument here. In full, we have the entire Gospel presented here. I'm not saying this is the only passage about the Gospel there is, but this would not be a bad place to either start or finish.

Finally Paul tells us that the new way of faith in Christ does not mean that Moses’ law was worthless (which was apparently another controversy among Paul's recipients). Instead, faith in Christ is the ultimate fulfillment and conclusion of the law: "Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law." (3:27-31, ESV)

I feel like this is a little short, but this is a holiday. Happy Independence Day, everyone!

TOMS: Romans 2

For an introduction to this series, click here.

July 3, 2007

This chapter continues the theme of the righteousness of God, but in a different way. This chapter has to do with how we view ourselves in light of God's righteousness and judgment: "We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man - you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself - that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." (2:2-5)

It's easy (and fun!) to judge other people for their sin. It's harder for us to look into our own sinful hearts and judge ourselves. But "God shows no partiality" (2:11), and He will judge everyone equally. He will judge others for their obvious sins and He will judge us for our sins as well.

The rest of this chapter has to do with the difference between Jews and Gentiles with respect to the Law. Apparently this was a point of controversy in the early church. The Jews were rightfully proud of their heritage as the people of God and the descendants of Abraham. But that pride caused them to look down on their fellow Christian Gentiles. This was a problem Paul attacked directly: "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law." (2:13-14) 

These Jews were proud of themselves because they had Moses' law. But Paul says having the law is no great trick. The great trick is keeping the law. Lots of people who have never heard of the 10 Commandments live them out every day. So which is better: somebody who knows the law and doesn't practice it, or somebody who does not know the law, yet they naturally do the things found in the law? This was something most of the Jews had never thought of before, I'm sure.

Next Paul confronts hypocrisy directly: "But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-- you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'" (2:17-24)

Here Paul mocks the pride of the Jews who considered themselves superior to the Gentiles. Yes, they were the instructors, they were the wise people. But those who put themselves above others have to be extra careful. They are just as liable to sin as anyone, yet they put themselves on a pedestal. When they fall off the pedestal, they will land a lot harder than those who don't put themselves on the pedestal.

Finally Paul goes after the ultimate symbol of Judaism: circumcision: "Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God." (2:27-29, ESV)

Here Paul uses the term "Jew" to refer to children of God. The one who is a true child of God is not the one who has a bloodline traceable to Abraham. The true child of God is the one who does God's will. Circumcision and other outward shows of righteousness do not impress God. It is possible to have all the outward things right and have a heart full of envy and pride and bitterness. Believe me, I have been there.

TOMS: Romans 1

For an introduction to this series, click here.

July 2, 2007

Okay, here we go. I'm really not sure exactly when Paul wrote Romans, but this is probably the pinnacle of his epistles.

Paul opens with a typical opening for him. He opens with his name and his favorite title, "a servant of Christ Jesus called to be an apostle." (1:1) We will probably delve into Paul's openings later in his epistles.

He mentions that he wants to go to Rome but has not been there yet. This means this is likely the only of Paul's epistles he wrote to a person or group he had never met yet. I'm not really sure how significant that is, but it is interesting.

I can't let this pass without commenting, since this is an important theme in the New Testament. Verses 16 and 17 are very familiar: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" This is one of about four times Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted in the New Testament. The main theme of this chapter, and of the first part of Romans, is the righteousness of God. Paul says here that God's righteousness is revealed to those who live by faith.

The most significant portion of this epistle is the last section. There was a time that parts of this chapter were not read publicly in church or even in polite company because of the subject matter. But in today's society it is a powerful warning against the rampant sins of our age.

Note how in this chapter it is a willful denial of the truth that leads to ruin. We will see this over and over again in this chapter. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (1:18) "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." (1:21-23) God gives man opportunities to know him, and verse 20 tells us that all men are without excuse because all of creation testifies of God's power and deity. But man comes up with other explanations for these testimonies about God. Always has. Don't think that the idea of evolution is the first time man has tried to explain God away. This has been happening all through history.

Note the progression here. They knew God, but they did not acknowledge Him. They willfully ignored the facts about God they saw in nature and that they heard proclaimed by His teachers. Now notice what happens: "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." (1:24-31, ESV)

We can see how this has happened in our society and in other societies around the world. Man ignores God. When he ignores God, he comes up with other explanations for the world and what he sees around him. When he begins to believe those explanations he comes up with, he begins to realize that since he has explained God away, there is no need to feel obligated to obey Him or any other moral code. So he does whatever feels good. It doesn't necessarily happen to one man or even in a generation, but that is the progression, and it is the reason for all the sin in our world today. Man has forgotten God. When man successfully removes God from his thinking, he becomes a really smart animal, and does things not even animals do for his own pleasure and thrills.

TOMS: Acts 27-28

For an introduction to this series, click here.

June 30, 2007

Paul sets sail for Rome at the beginning of this chapter. Sailing the Mediterranean was tough. There were all sorts of things that could go wrong, but it was faster than walking or taking animals around through Turkey, Greece and Italy.

It is important to note that Luke writes this chapter in the first person plural- "we" and "us"- so that means he was with Paul on this trip. Luke gives a lot of details about the trip: the different places where the ships landed and so on. Luke also mentions that "the Fast was already over." (27:9) The marginal note says the Fast is a reference to the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, which takes place in October. So that means it was getting into the winter months, a bad time to be sailing.

The ship set sail from Crete, even though Paul advised them not to. A couple of days later they got into a terrible storm. It was so bad that they did not see the sun or the moon for 14 days. Even though he was a prisoner, Paul seems to become the leader of the ship: "Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.'" (27:21-26, ESV) It happened just as Paul said it would.

This is a tough stretch to try to comment on. It's just kind of a straight story, and not much else going on. But don't worry. We will be in Romans next week.

July 1, 2007

This is the last chapter of Acts. It does not have a proper ending because Luke just described everything that happened up until the time he wrote the book. He probably wrote most of it at Rome, where Paul was. Luke was a faithful companion to Paul.

As soon as they landed on the island of Malta, Paul had an amazing experience: "The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god." (28:2-6)

Paul also healed the leader of the island's father and several other people. Here was an unreached group, (according to the marginal note, the word for "native people" in the above passage "barbaroi" from which of course we get the word "barbarian." It probably meant they did not speak Greek) and the Lord allowed him to perform miracles.

When Paul came to Rome, he spoke to the Jewish leaders there. It seems interesting, since earlier in the book of Acts we are told that the emperor kicked all the Jews out of Rome. But anyway, here is what Paul had to say: "Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar--though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain."

I guess this speech from Paul confirms that he was afraid of the Jews in Judea, although I am not sure he had any reason to be. The Jews in Rome agreed to listen to Paul. The results were kind of predictable: "When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved." (28:23-24, ESV) This is the way everyone responds to the Gospel. It is not our responsibility to make everyone be saved. It is our job to proclaim the truth.

Thus ends the book of Acts. Tomorrow, we will begin in Romans. That will be fun! Let's just hope I can keep our blog segments fairly short. I may have to divide a lot of the chapters, but that will be OK too.

TOMS: Acts 26

For an introduction to this series, click here.

June 29, 2007

This chapter tells about Paul's testimony before Agrippa. I don't have the information in front of me, but Agrippa was a descendant (probably a grandson) of Herod the Great, the man who tried to kill Jesus when He was a baby.

Paul basically recounts his life once again. He was trained as a Pharisee and was persecuting the early Church. And then one day he was traveling to Damascus to persecute more Christians when he saw the Lord Jesus. Paul actually adds some words to what Luke records in the original story in Acts 9: "And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'" (26:14-18)

Agrippa, as a member of the family that ruled the Jews for over 100 years, would have been more familiar with Jewish customs than Festus, who was probably Roman. That partially explains this exchange: "And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, 'Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.' But Paul said, 'I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.' And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?' And Paul said, 'Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am--except for these chains.'" (26:24-29)

Agrippa did know the Jewish traditions, but he was not going to be persuaded by anyone to abandon what he believed in, which was doing whatever was necessary to retain his power.

"Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, 'This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.' And Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.'" (26:30-32, ESV) This passage still makes me wonder if Paul did the right thing by appealing to Caesar. It is tough to conceive how Paul would have been convicted by an honest judge. And I doubt that Paul was afraid of the Jews and what they might do to him. And the Lord already promised Paul that he would preach in Rome. Was this the best way to get there? I doubt it.

As an aside, how Luke found out about this conversation is another interesting story that we will never know, at least this side of heaven. I really can't conceive of how this might have happened.