Since God Forgives, Can We Sin As Much As We Want?

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Romans 6:15-23

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 
 

THREE THINGS!

  1. We have readings this weekend. Normally, we take off Saturdays and Sundays, but I have assigned us readings this weekend only, so as to finish Romans Part 1 before October begins.

  2. Our new Romans books are in! Pick one up at Asbury, or email Sandie and she can mail you one.

  3. All-Church Bible Study Wednesday (10/2), 6:30-8:00 PM. We’ll be looking at what is arguably the greatest chapter in the Bible—Romans 8. Please make every effort to attend—it’s important.

 
 

Paul has previously made the point that Christians are no longer under (Old Testament) Law but are now under grace. Does that mean that they can sin as much as they want? NO. And he goes on to explain why.

Paul’s point is NOT that Christians are now completely free from control. No, they are not completely free from control; rather, they are now controlled by Christ. Christians are still slaves, but now they are “slaves to righteousness.” Because they are slaves to righteousness, it makes no sense that they would continue to serve sin.

You gotta serve somebody.

As Douglas Moo puts it:

Those who are joined to Christ by faith live in the new age where grace, not the law of Moses, reigns. This being the case, believers’ conduct is not directly regulated by the law. Under Jewish premises, such a “law-less” situation would be assumed to foster sin….But Paul sees in God’s grace not only a liberating power but a constraining one as well: the constraint of a willing obedience that comes from a renewed heart and mind and, ultimately… the impulse and leading of God’s Spirit. — from The Letter to the Romans, by Douglas Moo

Paul admits that the slavery metaphor isn’t perfect, but he’s trying to make his point in language they understand. He goes on to ask what good came from their slavery to sin, compared with their current slavery to Christ. Sin leads to death, but Christ gives life.

For Paul—and for us!—the point is clear: you gotta serve somebody, and it’s better to serve the One who gives life than the power that leads to death.

 

Is Sin Good Because It Shows God's Grace?

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Romans 6:1-14

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

 
 

Paul has hit this question previously in Romans. If God’s grace shows up wherever sin is present, and if the greater the sin means the greater the grace, then why don’t we just sin more so there is more grace?

Paul emphatically answers the question from the previous verse: NO WAY. We don’t sin to “increase” God’s grace because that would imply we are still under the slavery of sin. But, in fact, in a mystical way, we have been united with Christ through faith, and our old sinful self has been crucified with Christ. What this means is that there is no reason whatsoever that Christians must continue to sin. It’s like we’ve been let out of prison—there is no reason to walk back inside the prison walls. Or, to use the biblical example: once the Israelites have been delivered from Egypt, it would be insane to walk right back into slavery.

I find this passage really encouraging and convicting: there is no reason for me to be tolerant of sin in my life, because Christ has set me free from sin. This means there is nothing inevitable about my sin—through the work of the Holy Spirit, I can shut the door on past practices and live as a new man.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. [6:14]

What do you need to walk away from today?

 

Do You Belong To Adam Or Jesus?

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Romans 5:12-21

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 
 

This is a complicated passage, and I found something in one of my commentaries that has been helpful to me:

Paul paints with broad brush strokes a bird’s-eye picture of the history of redemption. His canvas is human history, and the scope is universal. We hear nothing in this paragraph of Jew and Gentile; both are subsumed under the larger category “human being.” The perspective is corporate rather than individual. All people, Paul teaches, stand in relationship to one of two men, whose actions determine the eternal destiny of all who belong to them. Either one belongs to Adam and is under sentence of death because of his sin, or disobedience, or one belongs to Christ and is assured of eternal life because of his righteous act, or obedience. The actions of Adam and Christ, then, are similar in having epochal significance. But they are not equal in power, for Christ’s act is able completely to overcome the effects of Adam’s. Anyone who “receives the gift” that God offers in Christ finds security and joy in knowing that the reign of death has been completely and finally overcome by the reign of grace, righteousness, and eternal life (vv. 17, 21). — from The Letter to the Romans, by Douglas Moo

Let’s walk through what Paul says.

From Adam, sin and death spread to all people:

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. [5:12-14]

Even before the Law was given at Sinai, there was sin. Not everyone disobeyed a direct command like Adam did, but everyone sinned, nonetheless. Adam chose sin, and unleashed death as its consequence on everyone who came after him. Jesus, in contrast, chose righteousness and unleashed life on everyone who now believes in Him. But it would be a mistake to set up Adam and Jesus as equal and opposites, yin and yang—the obedient choice Jesus made to die for rebellious humanity is much more powerful and has much greater consequences than the sinful choice that Adam made:

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. [5:15-17]

The results of Jesus’s choice overcome the results of Adam’s choice. (Note that little phrase that those who are in Christ will “reign in life” (v. 17). This will be a key point later in Romans 8—that one of the results of salvation is that God’s people will take their place and reign over the new creation.)

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. [5:18-21]

The Law showed that even Israel was sinful, but Jesus—the obedient Israelite—died on behalf of sinners, proving that God’s grace is greater than any sin. Sin had its time, but the grace of God has triumphed over it, through Jesus Christ.

The result: all who trust in Jesus are righteous and have eternal life, since death no longer has power over them.

 

Christ Died For *Sinners*!

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Romans 5:6-11

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 
 

Paul has been arguing that everyone—Jew and Gentile—has been enslaved to sin and death. Like the children of Israel in Egypt, we were in bondage and unable to free ourselves. How did the Lord free the slaves in Egypt? By coming with power in the terrible Tenth Plague and passing-over everyone who placed the blood of a sacrificial lamb on his doorway. When it comes to everyone enslaved to sin and death, how would the Lord free them?

By sending His own Son to die as a sacrificial offering!

Paul will explain later starting in chapter 8 exactly how the death of Jesus freed people from sin and death, but here he wants the Romans to reflect on just how amazing it is that Jesus died for people who rejected him:

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [5:6-8]

A mother might sacrifice herself for her own child, but would a mother sacrifice herself for a violent terrorist? Paul’s point is that the death of Jesus is a remarkable picture of the love of God.

It is one of the most remarkable sentences in the entire Bible—Christ died for sinners!

 

Suffering → Endurance → Character → Hope

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Romans 5:1-5

5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 
 

Imagine the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, in misery because of their bondage. This is what life is like for everyone, apart from Christ. Paul has been explaining how both Jews and Gentiles are enslaved to sin and living in misery. But Jesus died for sinful humanity and everyone who trusts Him will be freed from slavery to sin and death. Those who trust Jesus have “peace.” Imagine the Hebrews on the far side of the Red Sea, freed forever from Pharaoh. Just like the Hebrews in the wilderness, those of us who have been freed are eager to enter Promised Land where God’s glory shines and everything is renewed. We rejoice at that hope:

We rejoice in hope of the glory of God [5:2]

But we’re not there yet. Life can still be difficult. Those freed Hebrew slaves still had times of trial in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land. But, before them constantly was the glory of God, leading the way:

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. [Exodus 13:21-22]

So, the dark night meant that the Lord’s fire before them shined even brighter.

Paul says it is the same way for us today, that even the hard times can be good:

[W]e rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. [5:3-5]

Suffering can produce endurance;
Endurance can produce strong character;
Character can sustain hope;
Hope is not an empty feeling, but a sure thing, because:
God has given us His Holy Spirit, and He makes God’s love real to us so that even now—when things are hard—we know that everything is going to be okay.

Suffering→endurance→character→hope.

There is an idea (recently expressed by the author G. Michael Hopf, though the idea has been around for centuries):

Hard times create strong men;
Strong men create good times;
Good times create weak men;
Weak men create hard times.

It is of course an oversimplification, but there is obvious truth in the idea that difficult circumstances can produce people of strong character.

Paul explains to the Romans that those who are in Christ can even be grateful for sufferings because, through the grace of God, suffering can be used by God to produce hope that will not disappoint.

What if the Lord is allowing difficulty in your life for your own good? What if what God wants to produce in you is hope?

 

Faith Is Trusting When Your Circumstances Are Bad

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Romans 4:13-25

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

 
 

Paul wants his readers to understand that God’s promise to Abraham came before the Law was given to Israel, which means the promise does not depend on the keeping of the Law. Rather, it depends on faith.

Faith is not believing in the miraculous—Jesus walking on water, e.g.— faith is trusting God when the circumstances around you are bad. God told Abraham that he would give Abraham and Sarah a child, despite the fact that they were very old. To his credit, Abraham trusted that God would fulfill that promise. In the same way, we trust that the Father will save us through Jesus. Abraham is our great ancestor in the faith because of how he trusted God.

Faith is trusting God when the circumstances around you are bad.

How will you need to exercise faith today?

 

Abraham: The Model Believer

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Romans 4:1-12

4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

 
 

In Romans chapter 4, Paul makes a dense argument, explaining how Abraham is actually an illustration of what he has been saying about faith. I know this is hard stuff, but it’s worth it!

To understand that point Paul makes with Abraham, we have to go back and be reminded of how the biblical story plays out:

Genesis 3→Adam and Eve rebel against the Lord, bringing death and destruction into the world.

Genesis 4-11→Humanity spirals deeper and deeper into death and destruction, and human idolatry culminates in the Tower of Babel. The result is that humanity is scattered.

Genesis 12→God starts the plan to rescue all of humanity by making a promise—a covenant—to Abraham. Abraham’s family will be the means by which the entire world will be rescued and blessed.

Genesis 15→God renews his promise to Abraham, and Abraham believes in the promise.

Genesis 17→Abraham is given a mark in his flesh—circumcision—as a sign of the covenant.

Exodus 19→Abraham’s descendants—the Israelites—are given a new covenant at Mt. Sinai that is meant to mark Israel as the covenant people.

Israel fails to uphold the covenant, and finds itself in exile.

Jesus obediently keeps the covenant and dies as the perfect Israelite on behalf of His people, thereby bringing blessing to the entire world.

So, Paul looks back at Abraham and sees Abraham as the model believer and the founder of faith because Abraham trusts God even before he receives the mark of circumcision. So, circumcision is not the way you become part of God’s covenant people—faith in the heart is how you become part of God’s covenant people.

So, Paul’s point is that Abraham is the spiritual ancestor of everyone who puts their trust in God.

The Bible says that Abraham trusted God and it was his faith that made him righteous and that was before Abraham was circumcised. Paul’s point: Abraham is the spiritual father of everyone—both Jew and Greek—who puts faith in God. You don’t have to be circumcised in the flesh to be part of Abraham’s family, which means Gentiles who trust Jesus are now part of God’s covenant people.

Why did God do this? Well, Paul explains that when you are paid wages, your employer isn’t giving you a gift, but merely what you are owed. In contrast, when God just blesses someone with grace it’s a free gift and not some obligation that God was forced to provide.

The point: we who have been justified by faith in Jesus ought to be so grateful!

 

What Righteousness Means

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Romans 3:21-31

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 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. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

 
 

Paul states that the righteousness of God has now been revealed in a surprising way—not through the Law, although the Law and the Prophets (i.e., the entire Old Testament) foretold it would happen. No, what is amazing is that God is doing something new by saving people through faith!

A key idea in Romans is summed up by the word “righteousness.” The term has several overlapping meanings; here is a good way to understand righteousness:

Righteousness – the “rightness” of God, rooted in God’s identity, also God’s “making right” the wrong things of the world, also the characteristic of someone whom God has “made right” and is conforming to God’s standard.

Paul here says that all it takes to be made right by God is to trust—“have faith in”—in Jesus. Gentile or Jew—it doesn’t matter: each needs to be saved from sin and each can be. God’s righteousness is such that He doesn’t hold people’s sins against them but forgives them because of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

Paul says that none of us who is saved should boast about it because we did nothing to deserve or earn it—we only just trusted in Jesus. And again, this salvation is for both Jews and Greeks. And because Jews are saved through faith, this doesn’t mean the Law was useless; on the contrary, the Law shows that people need to be saved, because they are unable to keep it.

 

"Their Throat Is An Open Grave"

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Romans 3:9-20

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

 
 

Paul, speaking to his imaginary Jewish interlocutor, makes his point again:

Just being Jewish doesn’t count for anything, because both Jews and Gentiles are sinful and need to be saved.

Then, Paul quotes from the Old Testament—mainly the Psalms—to emphasize the point he made above—people are sinful—and to show that this idea isn’t original with him but is in fact what the Bible has already been teaching.

Again, just because the Jews have the Law doesn’t mean that they are better than other people. In fact, the Law proves just how sinful they are by showing clearly that they are not abiding by it nor keeping its terms:

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. [3:19-20]

Paul is continuing to make his case about how sinful all of humanity it, so he can show just how amazing is the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Keep reading!

 

What's The Point Of Being A Jew?

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Romans 3:1-8

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” 5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

 
 

“Okay, smart guy,” replies Paul’s imaginary Jewish interlocutor, “if Jews stand condemned in sin just as much as Gentiles, then what’s the point of being a Jew? Why did God choose Israel as His people?”

Well, says Paul, for one thing, the Jews were given God’s Word (“the oracles of God”). And even if some Israelites were unfaithful, that doesn’t change the character of God. In fact, God is so good and committed to His promises, that the more His people sinned, the more God remained faithful. Their unrighteousness showed just how righteous God is.

“Okay,” says Paul’s interlocutor, “but if my sin shows God’s goodness, then couldn’t you say that God owes me for making Him look good? Couldn’t you say that it is actually good for Israel to sin, then, so that God can show his grace and righteousness? Shouldn’t we just sin more so God looks better? Why are we getting in trouble for making God look good?”

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) [3:5]

Paul says that anyone who thinks that way should be criticized, because that way of thinking is really twisted. After all, if God rewarded sin, then God would never right any wrongs or make any judgments. And that kind of God is no kind of God at all. Paul says that if he actually taught that people should sin more and thereby make God look better, then he would be right to be criticized:

7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. [3:7-8]

So far in his letter, Paul has explained how idolatry—worshipping the creation rather than the Creator—has led the Gentiles deep into sin. They are, in fact, in so deep that they will need to be rescued. He then goes on to explain how the Jews—who should have known better—also were idolatrous and disobedient. Paul’s main point in Romans chapters 2-3 is that the Jews are no better off than the Gentiles but are also totally sinful and in need of God’s grace.

We’re no different.

 

What Was The Point Of The Law?

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Romans 2:25-29

25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 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.

 
 

The Lord chose Abraham (and then Abraham’s family, Israel) to be His representatives to the nations, to teach the nations how to live well and to bring the nations back to the Lord. The Lord made a covenant with Israel, and the sign of that covenant was circumcision—a physical mark in the flesh. Circumcision was the sign that Israel was set apart through a covenant promise.

Paul here addresses an imaginary Jewish interlocutor who believes that circumcision alone is what matters to make people righteous. Paul says that, yes, circumcision is a sign of God’s promise, but that what matters is what circumcision signified, not merely the physical mark in the flesh. That is, it is through the keeping of the Law that Israel shows its covenant status—which was what circumcision was meant to signify—not just circumcision alone. So, Paul points out that just being Jewish doesn’t count for anything—that circumcision, the sign of the covenant and of one’s membership in Israel—is a worthless sign if you aren’t actually obedient. What matters is obedience. So, someone who is uncircumcised —i.e., a Gentile—but obedient is actually righteous, whereas someone who is circumcised by disobedient is unrighteous.

26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. [2:26-29]

In other words, just saying, “Well, I’m an Israelite, so I can’t be condemned for my sins” won’t work.

How does this dynamic play out today?

Many Christians have believed the lie that they can claim to be Christians but live completely disobedient lives. Paul is here offering a warning to us that what matters is not what we say but what we do. This, by the way, is exactly the same point that Jesus makes in Matthew’s Gospel about Judgment Day:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” [Matthew 25:21-46]

Where are you living in disobedience today?

 

The Jews Are Not Better Than The Gentiles

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Romans 2:17-24

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

 
 

Paul has just spoken of the coming Judgment Day, at which everyone will be judged. Now, he responds to an imaginary Jewish interlocutor who says, “We’re fine, Paul, because we have the Law, and so we’re better than other people and don’t have to worry about judgment.”

(Remember, “the Law” is a shorthand way Paul has of referring to the entire Old Testament and specifically the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament that God gave Moses in the wilderness so that the Israelites would know how to live as God’s people.)

Paul’s has just told us:

• It’s not having or hearing the Law that matters, but actually being
obedient to God;
• Plus, the Gentiles have the law of their own conscience, so they actually are not ignorant of God's command.

Here, he goes on to talk about how the Jews have indeed had the Law, but that they didn’t abide by it!

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [2:17-24]

Paul’s point: God gave the Ten Commandments and the other laws to teach Israel how to live well, but Israel ended up just committing the very same sins that the Law forbade.

You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? [2:22]

Israel was meant to be a blessing to the nations and to point the Gentiles back to God, but the result of Jewish disobedience is that the Gentiles are farther away from God than ever:

23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [2:23-24]

We modern Christians need to reflect long and hard on what Paul is saying here. One of the surest ways to discredit the Lord is through sin in the church. When we who profess the name of Christ live just as sinfully as our unbelieving neighbors, we become a stumbling block to them, because they don’t see the Gospel as making any everyday difference in our lives.

Today, where do you need to repent—turn around, change—so that you better represent Jesus to the world?

 

Judged By What You Do With What You Have Been Given

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Romans 2:12-16

12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 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. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

 
 

“The Law” is Paul’s shorthand way of referring to the entire Old Testament, specifically the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament that God gave Moses in the wilderness so that the Israelites would know how to live as God’s people.

So, the Gentiles are those “without the Law” and the Jews are those “under the Law.” Paul’s point here is that, both Gentiles and Jews will be judged by what they actually do with what they know. The Gentiles have their conscience—“the Law…written on their hearts”—and the Jews have the Torah; what matters is what people do with what they’ve been given.

So, Paul tells the Romans that on Judgment Day, all people will be judged by Jesus, regardless of their ethnic status.

It is tempting for us to want to know about other people—“What will happen to this person, or that person?” What Paul reminds me here, however, is that the only thing that matters is what I am doing with what I have been given. I’ll trust other people to God’s justice and mercy— how am I responding to what I know about God?

What about you?

 

God Judges Everyone, Without Favoritism

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Romans 2:6-11

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

 
 

Judgment Day is for everyone, and no one avoids it. Paul here lays out the basic way that God’s judgment will work:

People who do the right thing will receive eternal life;
People who do the wrong thing will face God’s wrath.
The Jews will be judged first, and then the Gentiles.

Both Jews and Gentiles will be judged, “For God shows no partiality,” i.e., God judges everyone, without favoritism.

Paul will go on to show that, in fact, everyone will need to be saved because no one is actually able to keep God’s law.

The Good News? Jesus came to save everyone who believes in His name.

 

I Judge Myself By My Intentions, and I Judge You By Your Actions

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Romans 2:1-5

2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 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? 5 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.

 
 

Paul closed chapter 1 with a long indictment of pagan sin. The Gentiles come off looking really badly!

But then Paul pivots and holds up a mirror to an as-yet-unspecified, imaginary Jewish interlocutor. Paul says, “Don’t think you are any better, Mr. Jewish guy.”

Yes, the Jews had God’s Law revealed to them at Mt. Sinai, but how were they actually abiding by it? After condemning Gentile sinfulness, Paul will now pivot and show how Jews aren’t actually any better.

Paul’s point here is one that I find convicting: we tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and other people by their actions—we give ourselves a pass for the very same sins that we point out in others.

He then says (v. 4) that if your sins haven’t yet caught up with you, that’s only because God is showing you forbearance because he wants to give you time to repent!

Sooner or later, every person will face judgment; no one gets to avoid it.

 

Doesn't This List Sum Up What You See in the World?

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Romans 1:28-32

28 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. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

 
 

Although Paul has just been explaining how sexual sin is a result of pagan idolatry, sexual sin is not the only form of sin with which he is concerned; rather, the reason Paul highlights sexual sin is that it is for him an excellent example of the consequence of pagan idolatry. Here, he goes further, and it is quite the indictment—buckle up:

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. [1:28-32 NIV]

This is some list—hard to see what other forms sin might take that Paul doesn’t here condemn.

The point: the Gentiles (I’ve been calling them pagans) have no hope apart from the Gospel. Their idolatry has caused them to be utterly corrupted by sin. (Paul will spend the next two chapters explaining how the Jews are not actually any better.)

Consider that last paragraph of chapter 1—doesn’t it pretty much sum up the state of the world today in many places?

The Good News—which Paul is building towards—is that Jesus died for the pagan peoples even as they worshipped the dark powers and He will bring them out into the light of God. Thanks be to God!

 

the Vicious Cycle of Sexual Sin

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Romans 1:24-27

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 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. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 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.

 
 

One of the consequences of idolatry is sexual sin. Sexual sin is the worship of the human body rather than the Creator of the human body; sexual sin is what happens when we want pleasure on our own terms, that which is right in our own eyes. Because idolatry is a both a result of foolish rebellion and a cause of further foolishness, Paul sees “unnatural” sexual activity—sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage, founded on the male/female union—as the paradigmatic example of pagan sin. Paul is talking about homosexual activity here, but I think the implication is larger than that and includes all forms of sexual sin. (Pornography is about the purest form of idolatry that there is, because it is about the focused desire of another person’s image.) The brokenness that results from sexual sin is both its consequence and the proof that it’s wrong. There is a reason why so many of today’s cultural arguments have to do with sex, and that's because sex is fundamental to human life. If we get sex wrong, it deforms everything else; sexual sin deforms the human person in a fundamental way. I always say that one of the consequences of sexual sin is that it retards human maturity. And unrepentant sexual sin hardens the heart, making it harder and harder for a person to hear the Gospel and repent.

But let us not forget Paul’s thesis statement earlier in the chapter:

16 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. [1:16]

The Gospel is more powerful than sin, and there is no sinner that cannot be saved.

Who seems so far gone that only a miracle would save him or her? Pray for that person!

 

Paul Goes After My Ancestors

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Romans 1:18-23

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 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. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

 
 

My ancestors all came from northwest Europe. So, at the time of Jesus, my fathers and mothers were prowling the great primeval forests of Germania and Gaul, painted in pagan warpaint and killing Romans, worshipping their false gods around druidic blazes. And Paul explains why they had no excuse for their sin and violence.

It was obvious to all ancient people that God (or gods) made the world, and if God made the world, then it follows there are right and wrong ways to behave. Paul’s point: even ignorant pagans knew that they often behaved in wicked ways. “A law written on their hearts,” or, as we would put it today, “conscience.” In other words, they couldn’t say, “It’s not our fault—God never gave us the Ten Commandments.” Paul’s reply, “You knew enough, and what you knew you didn’t keep.”

Idolatry is worshipping something created rather than the Creator. We worship what we think will give us what we don’t have; worship is our focused attention on what we most desire.

And note the terrifying result of idolatry:

21 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. [1:21]

Paul says that idolatry leads to a darkened mind. This gets at what Jesus meant when He said,

12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. [Matthew 13:12]

In other words, the first and most important decision is to honor God as the true source of light and life, and all other decisions flow downstream from that first decision. If you get that right, then you move in one direction, but if you get that wrong, you’ll be more and more wrong.

Imagine taking the wrong fork on a river journey—every moment that passes takes you farther away from your destination.

Lord, save us from idolatry today, and keep us from having darkened hearts. Amen.

 

Paul's Thesis Statement

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Romans 1:16-17

16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

 
 

Romans 1:16-17 is Paul’s thesis statement for the entire letter:

• The Gospel has power to save anyone, regardless of ethnic status;
• The Gospel came first to the Jews, God’s people. Many Jews believed in Jesus, and they were saved;
• Then, in God’s plan, the Gospel came to the Gentiles, and any Gentiles who believed were likewise saved;
• The Gospel shows God’s righteousness. Righteousness is an important idea for Paul, and it’s a word that has a whole range of meanings.
• Righteousness is the “rightness” of God, rooted in God’s identity; it is also God’s “making right” the wrong things of the world; it is also characteristic of someone whom God has “made right”and is conforming to God’s standard. God’s righteousness is revealed and attained through faith, i.e., through trusting God.

This is a dense theological statement! Paul will spend the rest of his letter explaining and unpacking these two verses.

In the meantime, it’s worth remarking on that beautiful word in v. 16: everyone.

Paul says that the Gospel has power to save everyone.

It is THE most powerful thing in the world—the Gospel.

Do you know someone who seems lost?

Pray specifically for that person today to be saved by the Gospel.

 

The Immediacy of Paul's Words

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Romans 1:8-15

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

 
 

Paul tells the Roman church (the majority of whose members he has never met) how much he prays and praises God for them. He has wanted for a long time to come visit them but was unable to do so, and he feels that he has something to offer them, though of course he knows that he would also be blessed just by spending time with them. He reminds them that he has a special mission to non-Jews—both the civilized “Greeks” and the uncivilized “barbarians”—to tell them about Jesus and invite them into the church.

Do Not Conform. Be Transformed.

What strikes me on reading this section is the immediacy of the words; it’s as if Paul is writing the letter to us, today, and not to ancient Romans 2,000 years ago.

But this is the power of Scripture—it is evergreen for God’s people.

Be committed to really studying these words, and they will change your life.