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Romans 5: Vile Affections (1:26-32)

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Introductions

Recall that we have learned that the wrath of God is revealed in the world, and it is revealed as God “lets go”of a culture, allowing them to run headlong into various suicidal and fruitless practices. In this text, we find a deepening expansion of the point Paul has already made.

The Text

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Rom. 1:26-32).

Summary of the Text

The wrath of God, considered in this light, is certainly not limited to homosexual practices. But Paul certainly places that particular perversion at the center of his argument. Notice that men do not embrace vile affections, despite everything that God could do. No, it says that God “gave them up unto” these vile affections (v. 26). The reason we have gay pride parades is that God is doing something to us. As a result, Paul argues, even the women gave up the natural use of man (v. 26). And the men did the same, turning in unseemly desire toward one another (v. 27). Just as they did not want to retain God in their knowledge, so God let them not retain Him in their knowledge (v. 28). As a result, they then filled up with all kinds of spiritual sludge (vv. 29-31). Sins are like grapes; they come in bunches. This happened despite the fact that they knew it to be the judgment of God (v. 32). This means their suppression of the knowledge of God did not really work. They did not want to retain the knowledge of God, but they still knew the judgment of God (v. 32). That judgment is that sin warrants death, as they well know, but they insist on becoming cheerleaders for that way of death (v. 32).

Natural Use

God created mankind, male and female, in His image (Gen. 1:27). This means that attempts to rearrange how everything goes are foundational attempts at trying to make a heretical theology stick. By defacing the image, we assault the reality. By rearranging the components, rebellious mankind is trying to recreate God, trying to make Him into something other than what He is. Homosexual actions are therefore a high profile revolt against the Trinity. All sins do the same, but this shows up the problem is stark relief.

Remember that God does not just reveal Himself in Scripture. He reveals Himself in nature, and the natural use of the female for the male, and the natural use of the male for the female, is an important part of that revelation. Homosexual practice is contrary to the design of God, not just because God says so in Scripture(Lev. 20:13), which He of course does, but also because we discover in the natural world that the parts don’t fit. This is not just physiological, although it is that. If you keep all the nuts in one bag and all the bolts in another, you won’t ever build anything. But “the parts” don’t fit anywhere else either. They don’t fit spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or culturally. Homosexual advocates like to represent this point as a cheap laugh line from “traditionalists,” but Paul shows it to be a cogent point, an unanswerable argument.

Vile Affections

When Paul says that God gave them up to “vile affections,” he does not just mean that they are vile from “our perspective, though others might differ.” Remember that this is at the very center of God’s judgment. When men desired to think as though God were not there, God granted their wish in judgment, and gave them over to a reprobate mind (v. 28). This is how we know that wrath is occurring—God gives them up, God gives them over (vv. 26, 28). Remember that Paul is echoing the judgment themes found in Ps. 106, and here is another one. God granted their request, but He sent leanness to their souls (Ps. 106:15). God judges in wrath by saying yes.

A Grim List Indeed

The sins that follow are not just sins that the culture in question dabbles in. They don’t just happen from time to time. When God’s wrath is being poured out, what happens? The pouring corresponds to a filling. “Being filled with all unrighteousness . . .” (v. 29). This particular cultural jug is filled with all unrigheousness (v. 19), sexual uncleanness (v. 29), wickedness of various kinds (v. 29), covetousness and wanting (v. 29), malice and spite (v. 29), green envy (v. 29), murder of course (v. 29), disputes and tangles (v. 29), lies and more lies (v. 29), a surly malignity (v. 29), whispering campaigns (v. 29), backstabbing (v. 30), God-hating (v. 30). contempt for others (v. 30), overweening arrogance (v. 30), boasting and bragging (v. 30), evil inventors (v. 30), disobedient to parents (v. 30), stupidity and stupor (v. 31), oath-breaking (v. 31), without natural affection (v. 31), hard-hearted (v. 31), and unmerciful (v. 31). And please note the ironic twist, in the modern parlance, to oppose the root that produces all this kind of corrupt fruit is called “hate.” Yeah, right, whatever.

Cheerleaders of Death

Those who know God, suppress the knowledge of God in unrighteousness, but nevertheless retain their awareness of the judgment of God (in which they live), persist in their rebellion. They know that sin is worthy of death, but nevertheless do them, and take pleasure when others follow the way of death along with them. Truly the words that Wisdom speaks in Proverbs are manifestly true in this instance. All who hate wisdom love death (Prov. 8:36).

And this is how we know that America is under judgment. Note again, we do not know in the abstract that America, like all nations, is headed for judgment if . . . We are dealing with a very concrete situation, not an abstract one. Suppose there was a nation awash in consumer goods, a nation that gained the world, but which lost its own soul (Matt. 16:26). Suppose that nation cut off its future by slaughtering over 40 million of her own citizens. Suppose further that this was urged as a noble and constitutional thing to do. Suppose that this nation began to sanctify sodomite marriages, and laughed at every form of righteousness. Suppose that there were millions of Christians in this country who longed for America to deliver herself by returning to her noble, true self, instead of longing for Christ to save her from her corrupted, wicked self.

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Romans 4: The Glory of the Obvious (1:18-25)

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Introduction

God the Father is prominent in the first three chapters of Romans. God the Son figures largely from the middle of three to the end of five. And then the Holy Spirit is central from chapters five through eight. We have the wrath of the Father, the propitiation of the Son, and the liberating deliverance of the Spirit. Remember that all three persons of the Trinity are working in harmony together, and that they are not trying to balance one another by leaning in opposite directions. So as we work through the first part of the book of Romans, let us remember that God reveals Himself in His Word, and not just in His creation.

The Text

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 1:18-25).

Summary of the Text

In this passage, Paul outlines what the wrath of God is directed against, which is all ungodliness and unrighteousness (v. 18). He also reveals to us the way God’s wrath functions (v. 24). Men in rebellion suppress the truth in unrighteousness, holding it under (v. 18). Paul is explicit that men sin against light. God has shown to man what is manifestly truth about Him. He has shown it to them and in them (v. 19). How did God do this? God’s invisible characteristics are understood by inference from the things that are made (v. 20). Specifically, Paul means God’s eternal power and Godhead, and this means that men are without excuse in their rejection of Him (v. 20). This is because they started from a position of knowing God (v. 21), but then refused to do two things. They refused to acknowledge the Godness of God, refusing to glorify Him as God (v. 21), and they refused to be thankful (v. 21). As a result, their imagination veered into vanity, and their foolish hearts were darkened (v. 21). Of course, this was not their perspective on what was happening (v. 22). As they became increasingly foolish, they puffed themselves up as wise. The glory of the incorruptible God that they refused to glorify was changed (in their imagination only) into images of corruptible creatures, like man, birds, quadrupeds, and creeping things (v. 23). Therefore God let them go, giving them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts and the dishonoring of their bodies (v. 24). This is what happens to those who swap the truth of God for a lie (v. 25), and who worship and serve the creature more than the Creator—the one who is forever blessed (v. 25). Amen.

The Wrath of the Father

We are accustomed to think that the wrath of God comes on men for their sins. We sin in history, and the wrath of God comes at the end of history. This is certainly true (see v. 32), but it is not the entire truth. The Bible not only teaches that sin brings the wrath of God, but that in an important sense, sin is the wrath of God. In this passage, the wrath of God is revealed against sin (v. 18). But how is it revealed (v. 24)? When God “lets go” that is a form of His wrath. When He takes away His restraining hand, the pit of evil that we fall into is a consequence of His anger, and not just an occasional for additional anger later. We see the same principle elsewhere in Scripture. “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein” (Prov. 22:14).

This adultery is not just something that God will judge; it is a judgment in its own right. Sodom was judged, therefore, before the fire fell, and America is under judgment as we speak. The mercy of God is when we say to God, “Thy will be done.” The wrath of God is when He says to us, “No, no, thy will be done.”

Suppression, Substitution, Subversion

The sin starts with rebellion and ingratitude. That is the first step. God takes our heads in both His hands, and points our head towards the greatness of His glory. We refuse to look because to do so would obligate us. We take the greatness of His glory and thrust it away from us, holding it under, suppressing it. The second stage is to substitute something else in place of God—images of men, or birds, or beasts, or crawling things. The final stage of judgment (remember, this is the wrath of God) is subversion. The glory of God in the image of God (man) is still too clear, and so that image must be dishonored. That dishonor takes the form of homosexual practices. This is not something where we can agree to differ. It is not that we believe such practices are dishonoring, while they believe it is honoring. They know it is dishonoring and degrading also—that is the whole point.

Reality and Image

You cannot dishonor the glory of God in the Godhead, and then sustain honor for the image of God in man. Incidentally, Godhead is not related to the word head, but rather from the Middle English hed to our word hood. So this word refers to the Godness of God, the Godhood of God, the divine nature of God.
This means, among other things, that apart from Christ human rights is an incoherent concept. If you hate the person, you won’t honor their picture. If your whole orientation is a rejection of the goodness of God, then what are you going to do with the reflection of that goodness that is found in the human body? You are going to figure out ways to degrade it, and unnatural sex acts are one of the most obvious ways to accomplish that kind of degradation.

What Everybody Knows

Never undertake to prove what everybody knows already. When you are in discussions with the office atheist, or with the radical secularist in your family at the Christmas reunion, do not accept their invitation to step into a neutral place from which you can prove to them that God exists. For to do so grants legitimacy to the heart of their rebellion—you have acknowledged that he really does not know, and that he would really like to know. He is holding an overinflated beach ball underwater, and has been doing it so long that his arms are quivering, and he invites you to accept the challenge of proving to his satisfaction that beach balls in fact do exist. He is terribly interested, and wants nothing more than to know the truth.

Remember that he professes that what he is doing is wise (v. 22). But God’s evaluation is different (v. 22). They say they want nothing other than respect, mutual affirmation, an elimination of hate crimes, and all the rest of it. God calls it the dishonoring of one another.

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Romans 3: The Just Shall Live by Faith (1:8-17)

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Introduction

The gospel is not faith, but the gospel cannot be understood or appropriated apart from a living and evangelical faith. As the Westminster confession puts it, the faith that justifies is “no dead faith” (11.2). Another name for “not dead” is alive, or living. The gospel is objective and outside of us. But the beating heart of Romans is the centrality of a living faith, the only kind of faith that ever believed God for anything.

The Text

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:8-17).

Summary of the Text

The church at Rome was not an insignificant body. Their faith was spoken of throughout the entire world (v. 8). Although Paul was not connected to that church formally, he nevertheless lifted them up to God unceasingly (v. 9). This point was important enough for Paul to swear to (v. 9). He served God in his spirit in the gospel of the Son (v. 9). In his prayers, one of his requests was that he be able in the will of God to make to Rome to visit them (v. 10). He had a deep desire to be a blessing to the Romans (v. 11). But, he hastens to add, this edification would by no means be a one way street (v. 12). He wanted them to know that he had attempted to come many times, wanting some fruit there in Rome just as he had been fruitful among other Gentiles (v. 13). Paul saw himself under obligation both to the Greeks (where much of his work had been done) and to the barbarians (in Spain perhaps?). His obligations were to the wise and unwise, to those in the seats of power and those in the hinterlands (v. 14). So as far as Paul’s strength is concerned, he is prepared to spend it in Rome (v. 15). Why? Because he is not ashamed of the gospel (v. 16) he serves (v. 9). This gospel is not shameful, and is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, then the Greeks, and then the barbarians (v. 16). For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (v. 17). Scripture teaches us this—the just shall live by faith (v. 17; Hab. 2:1-5).

Mutual Support

Remember the point of the book of Romans—Paul is looking for the Romans to help him in his mission to Spain. But he does not simply use them in pragmatic way. If they are going to be his partners in this work, he wants to meet them first. He does not want to minister in Spain with their support unless he has first ministered to them. And neither does he want to minister in Spain with their support unless they have been a blessing to him. In short, he is not just after their money. All biblical giving occurs in the context of communion and fellowship. It is no impersonal, bureaucratic affair.

The Just Shall Live By Faith

The phrase that Paul introduces here is taken from the minor prophet Habakkuk (2:4). This is the first quotation from the Old Testament in an epistle saturated with such quotations. And it is not just a phrase taken at random. The entire book of Habakkuk is a chiasm, and this verse that Paul cites is from the center of the chiasm. It is the central point of that book—and the central point in this one.

A Habakkuk complains about how long he must wait for justice (1:2-4)
B Yahweh answers him by describing the arrival of the incredibly powerful Babylonians (1:5-11)

C Habakkuk complains a second time—why do you allow the wicked to destroy nations more righteous than they (1:12-17)?
D Wait patiently. The wicked will be die, and the righteous will live by faith (2:1-5).
C’ Yahweh answers the second complaint; everything will be put right (2:6-20).
B’ Yahweh gives a final answer; His army is far more powerful than the Babylonians (3:1-15).
A’ Habakkuk resolves his first complaint. He will wait for God’s salvation (3:16-19).
The point of Habakkuk is to urge believers to a patient and tenacious faith in the face of incredible adversity. The context makes it clear that this is not raw propositional assent. Connected to this, the word rendered faith here (emunah) means faithfulness or fidelity. This is not “justification by works,” but rather “justification by faith that lives.” The fidelity is not fidelity in works, but rather fidelity to itself, to the true nature of faith.
The Righteousness of GodPaul says here that in the gospel “the righteousness of God” is revealed. What does that mean? I have mentioned the New Perspective on Paul, and one of the things emphasized in that theology is that the righteousness of God refers to His covenant faithfulness in keeping His promises, and not to an imputed righteousness—the righteousness of Christ credited to the one who believes. To take it in this latter sense, as we must, does not mean that we are denying that God is righteous Himself, and is a faithful, covenant keeping God. That is also true. But notice what Paul is claiming here. The just shall live by faith, meaning that the just shall live from faith to faith. This faith is what reveals or manifests the righteousness of God. And if we come at it from the other direction and say that God has kept His promises righteously, we have to ask what those promises are. And the answer to that is that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. He is the one who became the last Adam so that many might be made righteous (Rom. 5:19).

Not Ashamed

This gospel is potent indeed. When we are ashamed of the gospel, it is either because we have not reflected on how powerful it is, or it is because we have tinkered with it, thinking to improve things, and have only succeeded in creating something to be ashamed of.

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Romans 2: Called to be an Apostle (1:1-7)

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Introduction

In the first message, we considered the overall nature of the book of Romans and the fact that it was a fund-raising letter. In this letter, Paul set out his gospel in a systematic fashion so that the Roman Christians would know the nature of the gospel that he desired to preach in his mission to Spain. If we want to understand the gospel in Paul’s terms, as Paul sets it forth here, we have to take in the background of one other thing—the life of Saul or Paul himself.

The Text

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:1-7)

The Background to Romans

This letter is from Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul. He identifies himself in the first place as a servant or slave of Jesus Christ (v. 1). He had been called to be an apostle, which means “one commissioned and sent out,” and the nature of the commission is made evident in that Paul was consecrated or set apart for the gospel of God (v. 1). This gospel was not a new idea that had been cooked up between the testaments, but rather was promised in the Scripture by the prophets (v. 2). Specifically, the gospel concerned God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord—a Davidson in his human line (v. 3) and declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection (v. 4). It is important to add that this declaration was done with power, and in accordance with the spirit of holiness. This same God is the one through whom the apostles had received grace and apostleship in order to glorify the name of this God, by seeing obedience to the faith among all nations (v. 5). This process was ongoing, and the Roman Christians were included in that ingathering, being called of Jesus Christ (v. 6). The letter is addressed to all in Rome who were beloved of God and called to be saints (v. 7). Paul blesses them with grace and peace from the Father and the Son in his initial benediction.

Wicked Nations

In our overview of the entire book of Romans, we noted that chapter one shows the Gentiles were under sin, chapter two showed the Jews under sin, and chapter sin showed them both up to their necks in the same kind of sin. This is important for us to note at the beginning of this book because the gospel set forth here is a gospel that liberates the nations from wickedness, evil, sin, immortality, and so forth. This will be important for us to understand when we get to chapter seven, and Paul’s description of himself there as a representative Jew, but it is also important for us to see the nature of Saul’s conversion to Christ rightly. Otherwise, we will get everything confused. For now, we need to see that the gospel directly addresses what preachers in another era used to call sin. Paul is grappling with all ungodliness and unrighteousness (1:18), vain imaginations (v. 21), vile affections (v. 26), a reprobate mind (v. 28), along with envy, murder, and deceit (vv. 29-31). There is much more than this. Among the Jews, Paul was concerned about hypocritical double standards (2:1), hard and impenitent hearts (v. 5), thievery (v. 21), adultery (v. 22), and much more. Put them both together, and no one does good (3:12), they have throats that are open sepulchres (v. 13), cursing and bitterness (v. 14), and no fear of God at all (v. 18). Nothing is plainer than that Paul sets his gospel over against all the doings of the carnal man, and not against the expectant but faithful Jew.

Saul’s Conversion

One of the more serious errors found in what is called the New Perspective on Paul is that it tries to put these moral issues on the back burner, and make the central thing a question about the boundary markers of Torah— circumcision, and other marks of Jewishness. In this view, when Luke tells us that Zacharias and Elizabeth were blameless according to the law (Luke 1:6), and when Paul says something that sound similar (Phil. 3:6), they must be referring to the same thing. But this is plainly false. Zacharias and Elizabeth were conscientious and faithful old covenant members, looking forward to the Messiah as did also all the prophets, Simeon, Anna, and our Lord’s mother. Luke is praising them in Luke 1:6.

But Paul is referring to his previous “blamelessness” as so much dung (Phil. 3:8), and wants us to know that those who were still holding to what he used to hold to are dogs, evil workers, and flesh mutilators (Phil. 3:2). Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus held himself to have been an awful man. He describes himself as a chief among sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), as a blasphemer (v. 13), and insolent (v. 13, NKJV). When Christ appeared to him on the Damascus road, He was showing great kindness to a vile man. Christ delivered him from much more than an overly sentimental attachment to the boundary markers of the old covenant. Unless this is understood, the book of Romans will never be.

Not Healing the Wound Lightly

The prophet Jeremiah describes those who would say peace when there is no such thing. He talks about those who heal the wound of the people lightly (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). We naturally flinch from any treatments of the wound that really get down to business. A great deal of contemporary scholarship on Paul is dabbing around the edges of humanity’s gangrenous wound with a damp washcloth, not really wanting to admit the obvious. To change the metaphor, the solution will be to take the book of Romans like whiskey—straight. Let the gospel make you cough and catch your breath.

The Gospel Itsel

Christ Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. The fact of death reveals that we are dealing with no minor problem. The measures that God took to save us indicate the greatness of our dilemma. God Himself took flesh and dwelt among us, born into the line of David. This was not to help us figure out how to dispose of our phylacteries.

We considered last week how the gospel is for the nations, and not just for individuals as individuals. But let us never try to hide from the holiness and graciousness of God by taking refuge in some corporate shelter.

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Romans 1: The Gospel for All the Nations (15:24)

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Introduction

The book of Romans is a first century, apostolic fund-raising letter, and the fact that it almost never strikes us this way simply demonstrates how divergent our practices are from the biblical practices. The apostle Paul was seeking to minister in Spain, and he wanted the help of the Roman church. As part of this, he determined to set before them a clear statement of the gospel as he preached it, so that they would know the nature of the ministry they were helping.

The Text

“Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company” (Rom. 15:24).

The Background to Romans

The letter to the Romans was likely written from Corinth in early A.D. 57. Although Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), there is no record of him ever visiting Rome before this. The fact that he wanted to establish churches in Spain gave him the perfect opportunity to visit Rome, and to make the acquaintance of the Christians there. He had no desire to usurp the ministry of others, no desire to build on another man’s foundation.

The church in Rome was established in the capital city of the empire, and all the temptations you might expect came with that privilege. Paul was acutely aware of this, and he warns the Roman Christians of these temptations discretely but clearly. But he does so in a way that is woven together with his larger argument. There had been “visitors from Rome”present at Pentecost, and there had likely been a church there very early.

Priscilla and Aquila were part of this early Roman church, and Paul befriended them when the Jews were expelled from Rome under Claudius (c. A.D. 49). Suetonius (70 years later) said that it was because the Jews were constantly rioting at the instigation of a man named Chrestus, a variant Latin spelling of Christus. But if this referred to Christ, it would be odd for the Jews in Rome at the end of Acts not to know anything about this “sect” (Acts 28:22). At any rate, after the death of Claudius in A.D. 54, there was a thriving Jewish community in Rome, and when Paul wrote in 57, he could speak of the faith of the Roman church as a matter of universal knowledge. In short, Rome was a happening place.

An Overview of Romans

Most of Paul’s letters are responding to particular situations on the ground, and Paul is responding to them pastorally. Of necessity, this means that his teaching in the bulk of his letters is generally speaking ad hoc. In this letter, he does not have pastoral responsibility in Rome, and he is not responding to a crisis. Rather, he has the opportunity to go to Spain, and he is setting forth his gospel as clearly as he can. The result is that the book of Romans is far more systematic than most of his other writings.

In taking an overview of the book, we have to pass over a number of nooks and crannies, but we will address those as we proceed through the book. So take this as the broad overview, and remember that the original book did not have chapters and verses. In the first chapter, Paul shows that the nations are trapped in sin. But lest the Jews vaunt themselves, in the second chapter, he shows that they are under sin as well. In the third chapter, he summarizes by showing that Jew and Gentile are both in bondage to sin. Thus far we have a statement of the problem—the problem of universal sin that the gospel addresses.

In chapter four, he gives us an exegetical basis for justification by faith alone, found in the example of Abraham. In chapter five, we have more of a theological statement of the same truth.
Given that we are justified by faith alone, apart from works of the law, Paul turns (in a refutatio) to address a number of objections to his gospel. If we are justified by faith apart from the law, then doesn’t that mean that we get to sin up a storm? In chapter six, Paul answers no. If we are justified by faith apart from the law, then what was the law given for then? Paul answers that question in chapter seven.

In chapter eight, Paul begins his glorious discussion of the relationship of God’s sovereignty to God’s covenant promises and commitments. Chapter eight gives us a discussion of God’s commitment to the entire created order. Chapters nine through eleven describe God’s saving work within the covenant made with the Jews, and how the Gentiles were brought into that.

And then, in accord with his custom, Paul gives the Romans a series of ethical exhortations, all of which line up with the gospel that has been articulated. Chapter twelve addresses body life within the congregation. Chapter thirteen has to do with our relationship to the unbelieving civil order. Chapter fourteen concerns debates about questionable matters. Chapter fifteen addresses the subject of missions (and remember the purpose of the letter). And chapter sixteen largely consists of greetings and a few remaining exhortations.

The Gospel for All Nations

Evangelical Christians are accustomed to think of Romans as a tract outlining the way of individual salvation. This is certainly something that can (and should) be derived from this book, but it is important for us to note that Paul is proclaiming his gospel to the church at Rome, so that they would help him proclaim it to the region of Spain. The tribal nature of man is apparent throughout this entire book. It concerns individuals, of necessity, but we have to begin where Paul begins. “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name” (Rom. 1:5).

You cannot talk about omelets without including eggs. But you can talk about eggs, and never get to the omelet. You cannot talk about nations without including men and women, boys and girls. But you can talk about men and women, boys and girls, and never get to the nations. This individualization is one of the devices that we use to keep the gospel from getting us into trouble.

As we study this book, we will discover that God’s plan of salvation is far greater than a simple plan to save Smith, if Smith believes. God loves the world, the Jews, the tribes, the cosmos, and fully intends to save all of it . . . and that includes Smith.

 

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