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Romans 17: Peace With God (5:1-8)

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Introduction

Recall that the first three chapters of Romans address the universal problem, the problem of sin. Sin afflicts the Gentiles, as we saw in chapter 1. It afflicts the Jews, as St. Paul shows in chapter 2. Sin has both Jew and Gentile in its grip—that is the argument of chapter 3. In the fourth chapter, Paul begins his discussion of the glorious solution—a solution promised repeatedly in the first book of the Bible. That solution was the establishment of a new humanity through Abraham. And now Paul comes to the paradoxial truth—the seed of Abraham, the one through whom this new way of being human will be brought about, is a new Adam. This means that this second Adam has a father, Abraham.

The Text

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Rom. 5:1-8).

Summary of the Text

We have believed in the God who quickens the dead, who raised Jesus from the dead. On this basis, we have been justified (“righteoused”) by faith (v. 1). As a result, we have (as a present possession) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1). In addition to this, we also have access by faith into the status of grace (v. 2). Consequently, we rejoice in hope, hope that looks forward to the glory of God (v. 2). On top of that, we glory in our tribulations now because we know that tribulations are part of a process (v. 3). Tribulation works out to patience(v. 3). Patience, the next link in the chain, leads to experience and this experience leads to hope (v. 4). This hope does not let us down, and why? Because the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirt who has been given to us (v. 5). In our experience, when did this grace start? We had no strength to do anything, and while we were in that condition, Christ died for the ungodly (v. 6). For us it is a big thing to die for a righteous man, and sometimes some of us attain to that level (v. 7). But God’s love is quite different—Christ died for us while we were all messed up (v. 8).

What We Have Now By Faith

This passage focuses on the present and on the future both. Because we have believed (the same way that Abraham did), what do we have now? In the first place, Paul says, we have justification (v. 1). As a result, we have peace with God (v. 1). We have the privilege of standing in grace (v. 2). We also have the joy that hope brings (v. 2). We also have tribulation coupled with a right perspective on those tribulations (v. 3), which is to glory in them.

What We Look Forward to By Faith

Now the joyful hope that we currently have looks forward to the coming glory of God (v. 2). Remember from a chapter or so ago what sin causes us to fall short of? Right, the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). And Abraham, justified by faith, did what? He gave glory to God (Rom. 4:20). What was at the center of the Gentiles’ idolatry? It was that they exchanged the glory of God for the image of mere creatures (Rom. 1:23).

In between now and the glory to come, what can we look forward to? The answer is three-fold—patience, experience, and more mature hope (v. 4).

Glory Now and Glory Then

The word glory is fascinating, and helps us to understand its relationship to tribulation. Though they are different words in the Greek, notice that we glory in tribulation now as we look forward to the coming glory. What do tribulation and glory have in common? Well, they are both heavy, and Paul is very clearly using the image of training for something. This is not just training—it is weight training. We boast in the privilege of carrying the weight of tribulation now because we know that we are being prepared to carry the weight of glory later. Tribulation is a set of training weights.

A Christian approach to tribulation therefore strains toward a goal. It is not the response of one who just hunkers down to “take it.” Our trials are teleological—which means they all have a point. And this means we must interact with our tribulations with both faith and intelligence. Faith is first, and intelligence follows the argument through patience, experience, and hope.

No Real Point Without Personal Trust

But if tribulation is a set of training weights, who is the trainer? Well, of course, the answer in our text is the Holy Spirit. But as many who have had this experience can tell you, there will often come a temptation to think that your personal trainer is a maniac and a sadist. That’s what training does.

And that is why Paul turns to a discussion of the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. What has He shed abroad in our hearts? The answer is love, not aimless, mindless torture. Notice that God has not sent a sense of love from a distance. He has not sent love, He has brought it. The Holy Spirit is given to us, and the love He sheds abroad in our hearts came with Him.

God gives us things because He gives Himself, and brings the stuff with Him. He does not give as a substitute for giving Himself, but rather as part and parcel of giving Himself. The Holy Spirit is given unto us (v. 5). Christ was given to die for the ungodly (v. 6), that is, for us (v. 8).

A Strong Hope

When we are tempted to falter in the course of tribulations, what should we tell ourselves? We should tell ourselves the very same thing that the Spirit in this text tells us, and which the Spirit in our hearts tells us. Here is the argument, and it is very simple.

What were you like when God undertook you as His project? What condition were you in? And while you were in that condition, what did God do for you? The answer is that we were “without strength” (v. 6), and “ungodly” (v. 6). We were sinners (v. 8). Now, while we were in that condition, Christ died for us, and this was intended as a commendation of God’s love for us (v. 8). The argument looks ahead a few verses (vv. 9-10). If God did all this for His enemies, what will He do for those of us who are now His friends? Remember, we have peace with God (v. 1). We are justfied (v. 1). After what God did for His enemies, what do you think He might do for His friends?

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Romans 16: Fully Persuaded (4:17-25)

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Introduction

We continue following the apostle’s discussion of Abraham’s faith. We finished our treatment of Romans 4:16, knowing that Abraham was the father of believing Jew and believing Gentile alike. But what do we mean by that word believing? Abraham sets the pattern, and in this passage we learn what his faith was actually like. It is not enough for Abraham to have real faith and for us to have something called faith.

The Text

“As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be . . .” (Rom. 4:17-25).

Summary of the Text

We have noted that Abraham believed, but we have taken special note of what he believed. In this place, Paul notes that he believed the promise of Gen. 17:5, that he would be the father of many nations (v. 17). Now Abraham is the father of all (v. 16) before Him whom he believed (v. 17). The one he believed was God, and is He a worthy object of our faith? He is the one who raises the dead, and who speaks to nothing as though it were something—and then it is (v. 17). The promise cited in the next verse that Abraham believed was the promise from Gen. 15, “so shall your seed be.” Against hope he believed this particular word in hope (v. 18). He was not weak in faith (v. 19), and he looked to the promise and not to the circumstance. The circumstance was his own body, virtually dead, and Sarah’s aged and barren womb (v. 19). Not a lot to go on. He did not stagger at the promise in unbelief (v. 20), but was strong in faith. What did that look like? He gave glory to God (v. 20). Abraham was fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had said He would do (v. 21). And this is why is was imputed to him as righteousness (v. 22). Abraham was a man of faith, and he was an “all-in” man of faith. But this word is not recorded as an historical curiosity—look what happened to Abraham!—it was not written for his sake alone (v. 23). It was also written for us as well, who will have this righteousness imputed, if we believe in Him who raised Jesus from the dead (v. 24). This Jesus was delivered over for our sins (v. 25), and He was raised to life for our justification (v. 25).

Who God Is, And What He Does

Notice the parallel between what Abraham did and what we are to do. Abraham gave glory to God (v. 20). He believed in God (v. 17), not in certain random occurences. Abraham did not just believe the dead were quickened, and that certain inexplicable things happen. He believed in God, the one who brought these things about. He believed what was spoken (v. 18) precisely because he believed the Speaker. In the same way, in an identical way, we must do more than believe that Jesus came back from the dead. We must believe on Him who raised Jesus from the dead. We believe in a Person who says and does things; we do not proceed straight to those things which are said and done. But we may not detach them from the other direction either. Just as we cannot be justified by the predicate apart from the subject, neither can we be saved by the subject apart from the predicate

The Same Promise

We must also see that, at bottom, Abraham believed the same promise that we do. Abraham believed in the God who quickens the dead (v. 17), and we believe in the God who quickens the dead (v. 24). Abraham believed in the God who gave him the nations of men (4:13, 17, 18), and we believe in the God who raised Jesus for “our” justification (v. 25). Who does that pronoun refer to? Remember that we have just learned that Abraham is the father of believing Jews and Gentiles both, and that he understood this as meaning that God was giving the world to him (4:13). Our justification is therefore, over time, the world’s justification.

Is This Too Big To Swallow?

The world will be Christian. The nations will come to Christ. The swords will be beaten into plowshares. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord will be praised. The ensign will be raised and the ends of the earth will stream to the Lord Jesus. Take the breath away? Too glad to be true?

After all, scores of wars are continuing around the planet as we speak. Millions live in grinding and unbelievable poverty. Our new president has nothing but contempt for the right of the unborn to live. Sexual immorality continues to spiral out of control. We insist that our public square be kept stripped of all reference to the true and living God, and blithely expect Him to bless us anything. A glance at the newspapers would not lead you to the conclusions outlined in the paragraph.

“I see your point, certainly,” Abraham said. “I am an old man. How could I possibly beget a son? And look at Sarah . . . she was barren when she was young, and she is old now.” Is that what you want to be remembered for—pointing at our newspapers and persuading Abraham that he ought not believe the promises of God?

Fully Persuaded

But of course Abraham wouldn’t have listened to this kind of unbelieving chatter. God had promised him the world, remember, and he believed God, giving glory to Him (v. 20). What did Abraham do with all the information that was contrary to the promise? He ignored it. He had nothing whatever to do with it. He looked instead to the promise, made by the God who does what? God is not hog-tied by our circumstances. We believe in the God who quickens the dead, proving that He does this through His raising of Jesus from the grave. We believe in the God who calls those things which are not as though they were. And so what are Abraham’s children to do? They do the same, calling non-existent realities into reality. We are to do this by faith, never by sight.

Crippled Aeneas

According to Virgil, Aeneas was the legendary Trojan who laid the foundations of the great Rome. “And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately” (Acts 9:34). Note that Peter doesn’t flatter him; he heals him. America is not a picture of health; we are laid up with the palsy. Arise, then and walk. America is not vibrant with life. We are like Israel in the valley of dry bones. Rise, then and live. So then, you believe that America can be restored this way, by words from a pulpit? Well, yes, I do.

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Romans 15: Father of Us All (4:9-16)

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Introduction

We rightly refer to father Abraham. He is the central model for us from the pages of the Old Testament, living out the implications of radical faith, faith at the root. As we walk in imitation of him, we are his children indeed. As we walk in imitation of him, we have the family resemblance that Jesus looked for in the Pharisees and did not find (John 8:39).

The Text

“Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness . . .” (Rom. 4:9-16)

Summary of the Text

Remember where we are. The universal enemy of our souls is sin, and it afflicts Gentiles and Jews alike. The entire human race is shut up under sin, but God is not intervening at the last moment in a panic, trying to troubleshoot a problem that is beyond Him. He has been declaring His universal plan of salvation for the entire world through Abraham, and He has been doing so from the very first book of the Bible. God’s plan through Abraham is for everyone, and always has been. So is this Abrahamic blessing for Jews only (v. 9)? We can answer the question by remembering that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness, and when did this happen (v. 10). Abraham was right with God through faith before he was circumcised (v. 10). He received circumcision after he received righteousness in order that uncircumcised Gentiles might consider him their father as well (v. 11). His circumcision was a seal after the fact. At the same time, he did get circumcised, so that he might be the father of a certain group of Jews—those who walk in the kind of faith that Abraham had while still uncircumcised (v. 12). For the promise that Abraham would inherit the world was a promise to be received through the righteousness of faith (v. 13), and was not to be received through the Torah. For if the Torah could do it for us, then both faith and promise are made void (v. 14). So the Torah can’t do it—but it can bring wrath. For if there is no law, there is no transgression of the law (v. 15). And so this is why the salvation of the world is by faith, so that it might be gracious (v. 16). This ensures that the promise extends to all Abraham’s seed—both those circumcised in infancy and those who share his faith only. This is what makes him the father of us all (v. 16).

An Abrahamic Timeline

The apostle Paul bases his argument here on the chronology of events, and so we need to be careful as we reconstruct that chronology ourselves. We have already noted that Abraham came out of the idolatrous city of Ur (Josh. 24:2), and that he had trusted in the one who justifies the ungodly, Abraham himself included (Rom. 4:5). This means that Abraham began as an idolatrous sinner. The first biblical mention of Abraham’s personal faith is when he left Ur of the Chaldees (Heb. 11:8). When he left his country, the Bible says that he obeyed God, and God told him to go in conjunction with the promise (Gen. 12:1-3). Abraham went, believing in that promise (Heb. 8-10). He was 75 when this happened. Then when God promised Abraham descendants like the stars, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:5-6) . He was around 86 at this time. Twenty-four years after his departure from Ur, God established the covenant of circumcision with Abraham(Gen. 17:1-14). This means that Isaac was begotten when Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael was not. Abraham spent 75 years as a sinner, 24 years as an uncircumcised believer in God, and 76 years as a circumcised believer (Gen. 25:7). This helps to put Paul’s timeline argument into perspective.

Abraham, The Believing Gentile

Paul is arguing that Abraham was a believer in the true God, and he was a true believer in the true God, for twenty four years. He was righteous, and he was not a Jew. He was righteous, and not a Jew for a long time. Gentiles (who had been promised to Abraham starting in Gen. 12) are therefore invited to look to him as their father in the faith. He had faith, and that’s all, and they had faith, and that’s all.

Is Circumcision Nothing Then?

As Paul might say, “May it never be!” Circumcision has value in many ways. But the central value is only for those who share the faith of Abraham. Note carefully how Paul limits this. The uncircumcised Abraham is father of the Gentiles, but only those Gentiles who believe. In the same way, he is the father of the Jews, but only those Jews who believe. He is very clear on this. He is the “father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised” (v. 12, emphasis mine). In other words, a circumcised Jew who has faith may rise to the level of that famous Gentile Abraham. But if not, he does not.

Presbyterians and Baptists

Circumcision and baptism are not precise counterparts, but they are close (Col. 2:11). This being the case, let us reason by analogy. The thing that matters is true faith, faith that lives, walks, breathes, and loves. Did you take the sign of baptism after you believed? Then you are a credo-baptist the same way that Abraham was a credo-circumcisionist. Were you baptized in infancy? Then you are a paedobaptist the way that Isaac was a paedo-circumcisionist—provided you believe. If that is there, be fully convinced in your own mind, and don’t sweat it.

Heir of the World

All of the promises given to Abraham were pointing toward the same thing—a saved world. Scripture expresses this in many different ways, but all these expressions are directed at God’s love for all the nations of men. Abraham was looking for a city with foundations built by God (Heb. 11:10). Abraham looked forward to Christ’s day, he saw it and was glad (John 8:56). All the families of the earth would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:3). His descendants in the faith would be like the stars for number (Gen. 15:5). God would multiply Abraham exceedingly (Gen. 17: 2), and many nations would come from him (Gen. 17: 6). Paul interprets all this definitively when he says that the promise (expressed in these places) that he would inherit the world was set before him (and before us) as something to be obtained through the righteousness of faith. It was not for him, or for us, to be obtained through Torah. What is it that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4)? Is it not our faith?

Let us close with an observation on one other curiosity. In all the debates and wrangles over justification by faith, it is curious that many in our day are obsessed with believing in the way that Abraham believed, but they want to dispense (almost entirely) with what he believed. But we are told what to believe—that Jesus rose from the dead (Rom. 4:24)—but the entire context of this shows that in His resurrection we are to see the resurrection and salvation of the entire world.

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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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