Standing vs Relationship

Romans Bible Study #3

2:1-29

READ: Romans 2:1-11 ¹ 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.

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.
Hodge: The Jews expected their standing with God to be enough to save them, not the quality of their personal character. Paul, using the all inclusive O man, in v. 1, to include both Jew and Gentile in those who have sinned.

Bruce: The Jews, because of their unique position with God, are first to receive salvation, but also first to receive judgement.

Amos 3:1 – You only have a I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. God personally revealed Himself to the Jews, giving them privilege, but God expected them to respect that privilege by being obedient.
Q #1: How do Christians or those who 'think' they are Christians run the risk of falling into the same trap as many Jews have?
Q #2: How do you know whether or not you are truly saved?
Q #3: The following statement is a paraphrase of Stott: You will be saved by your faith and judged by your works. Don't reverse the two or you find yourself in a position in eternity that you will not like. If you think that God's kindness will protect you from the fires of hell, you presume too much. His kindness (v. 4) should lead you to repentance, not be a license to live like you are a child of hell and rather than a grateful child of the living God.

-Show attached Calvin's chart:

Calvin: Shows the chiasm (the word order of a line that is the reverse order of its predecessor: e.g. Ps 118:25 Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech thee, give us success.) that Paul used to explain the favored position of the Jews, and God's fairness in dispensing judgement to all.
-In the ancient world, many times when Gentiles came to belief in Yahweh, they were encouraged not to become Jewish prosolytes because the Jews believed God would not be so severe in His judgement on them if they just remained God-fearers.
Q #4: What does that tell you about the Jewish perception of God? What is yours?

-Read the BAR article, “Theology vs. Law...” (Jan-Feb 2015; Jonathan Klawans; p. 26).

Romans Bible Study #2

1:16-2:10

THE WRATH OF GOD AGAINST ALL HUMANKIND—1:16-3:20

Nobody can plead innocence, because nobody can plead ignorance

1:18-32 → Depraved Gentile society. Idolatrous, immoral, and antisocial.

2:1-16 → Critical moralizers. Profess high ethical standards, applying them to everyone but themselves.

2:17-3:8 → Self-confident Jews. Have knowledge of God's law, but don't obey it.

3:9-20 → The whole human race. All guilty and without excuse before God (Stott; 68).

In Aramaic, the word for life and salvation are the same. In this sense, salvation is not something one looks forward to at the end of life, but now too (Bruce).

Q #1: Does that fact change your perception of salvation? How?

Q #2: Respond to the following statement: Man's greatest obstacle was extinguished in Christ's work on the cross. The shackles of sin and death were destroyed, and man is free to follow after God.

READ: Romans 1:16-23 - 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.”

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.

Stott on wrath of God – “Does not mean that God loses His temper...The alternative to wrath is not 'love' but 'neutrality' in the moral conflict. And God is not neutral. On the contrary, His wrath is His holy hostility to evil, His refusal to condone it or come to terms with it, His just judgement upon it” (72).

Hodge's explanations: Ungodliness and unrighteousness are not synonyms. The former means impiety and the latter immorality. They are distinct types of general sinning, not a crescendo of evil behavior.

Verse 19– What can be known about God is plain to them → An internal witness to the reality of God.

Q #3: Respond to Romans 1:19, 20.

Q #4: Why do you think that man is consumed with idolatry?

READ: Romans 1:24-32 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.
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.

Barth describes man's desire to create both false gods and perception of Yahwey as the 'No-God'

Barclay reminds us that what Paul had to say about Roman society was no different than what Roman philosophers and historians said about Romans:

Virgil: Right and wrong are confounded.

Tacitus: I am entering upon the history of a period, rich in disasters, gloom with wars, rent with sedition, savage in its very hours of peace.

Suetonius: No day passed but someone was executed.

Propertius: I see Rome, proud Rome, perishing, the victim of her own prosperity.

Seneca: Stricken with the agitation of a soul no longer master of itself.
Clement of Alexandria: Speaking of a typical Roman society lady as girt like Venus with a golden girdle of vice.

Q #5: Reading through this list of sins God gives unrepentant sinners over to, do you think the list is archaic or helpful for today's society? Why is recognizing sin as sin always liberating?

TIME FOR PRAYER: All of us can pick a sin, or sins, from this list of sins in these verses and identify with them or feel the chagrin of participating in them. I want to remind you of 1 Jn 1:9, and tell you that God honors our prayers for forgiveness.

-As we read these verses, get ready to be put in your place if you start thinking “those miserable malcontents; someday they will receive their just reward when God judges them!” When I worked through these verses almost two years ago, I found myself pricked to the core of my conscience, at times, fearing for my own salvation.

Romans Bible Study #1 Introduction – 1:1-15

Rules to play by:

When I taught writing and students were given a writing prompt:

-They could quickly write down the first three ideas that came into their heads and their finished product would be like everyone else, OR they could take a few extra moments and come up with something creative that would give the grader something to be wowed by.

-If you're a person who always speaks first, give others who process more slowly the opportunity to answer, and make yourself search for that answer that may be a bit deeper and cause us all more insight.

Presuppositions:

1. There is a particular truth that leads to salvation: Gal 1:6-9; Acts 4:11, 12; Rom 10:1-4 → Even the Jews's righteousness is not enough to please God's righteousness; Jn 14:6.

Q #1: Why is it important for us to establish what the Bible says is the way to Salvation, and can we really know that?

2. Dillon Thornton's four tests to apply to genuine Christians:

a) Adherence to the authority of the Bible

b) Belief in the true identity of Jesus

c) Understanding the seriousness of sin

d) The necessity of love.

Q #2: Is there anything that you would add to this list?

Background:

Hodge: At the time of Paul's writing, many followers of Judaism and Paganism were showing signs that their beliefs were no longer viable. Other philosophies were being turned to:

Stoicism: tended to repress passion and natural feelings.

Platonism: saw all religions as basically the same with different expressions.

Judaism:

Pharisees: contented with the form and ritual of their faith.

Essenes: caught up in their enthusiasm and mysticism.

Sadducees: little more than skeptics.

The general population had very little in the different philosophies to hold on to or to give them hope.

Q #3: This was obviously advantageous for a new Gospel coming on the scene. What other things had taken place, historically, that made this a perfect time for God to send His Son to save us?

Date & Place of writing: Probably written in early A.D. 57 in or near Corinth.

Paul's Training:

Tarsus had a center for education that was equal to that in Alexandria and Athens. His referencing Greek authors in 1 Cor. 15:33 and Titus 1:12 indicates that he at least had a partial classical education. In Acts 22:3, Paul says of his Jewish training, I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

Paul's conversion to Christianity was unique. I Galatians 1:11, 12 we are told by him that it was not human persuasion which led him to the feet of Jesus, but the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. His unusual training put him on a par with other apostles and allowed him to have a scholarly polemic that could refute both Gentile and Jew.

Q #4: What difference does it make knowing that Paul was a highly educated theologian?

Q #5: Think of some ways that this fact differentiates Paul from the other apostles.

Theologians on Romans:

Luther: It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but that he should occupy himself with it every day.

Calvin: If we have gained a true understanding of this epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.

Tyndale: A light and a way unto the whole of Scripture.

Barth: With a joyful sense of discovery, the mighty voice of Paul was new to me: and if to me, no doubt, to many others also.

Lewis: Have you ever read the Analects of Confucius? He ends up by saying, “This is the Tao¹. I do not know if any one has ever kept it.” That's significant: one can really go direct from there to the Epistle to the Romans.

The Church in Rome:

No one is sure how it came into existence.

- It could have been Jewish believers returning to Rome from Pentecost.

- As the capital of the empire and a huge commerce center, believers may have moved to Rome for business reasons.

Major Theme:

Q #6: The NIV Study Bible says that the Major Theme of Romans has been suggested to be justification by faith; although a broader theme states the message of the book is more adequately stated: “Righteousness from God” (v. 1:17), which includes justification by faith. What do you think?

Outline:

(Simple) LABC → A. What to believe (1:1-11:36)

1. Sinfulness of mankind
2. Forgiveness of sin through Christ
3. Freedom from sin's grasp
4. Israel's past, present, and future

B. How to behave (12:1-16:27)

1. Personal responsibility
2. Personal notes

Romans 1:1-15, an introduction:

READ: Romans 1:1-6

Q #7: What are Pauls's qualifications listed here in v. 1?

Jesus brought several people back from the dead, but they would all die again. Because Jesus was the first person to die and then be resurrected to etermal life, we will too (1 Jn 3:2).

Q #8: What are the things that are listed in vs. 2-6, and why are they important?

READ: Romans 1:7-15 

It's very possible that Paul desired to go to Rome since all roads in the ancient world led to Rome. Like NYC today, in that great city, the world came to you, and there he could affect many lives who would go back to all parts of the known world. Many times God puts desires or interests in our hearts so that we can act on them.

Q #9: Would a few of you like to share a couple of short examples from your life where you developed an interest, and then you acted on it because you felt a calling from God?

The Jews rebelled against Rome in 66-70 A.D. And then later in 132-135. The Gospel achieved peacefully what the Jewish rebellions could not. We also see Paul's willingness to go to Rome on God's schedule rather than his own.

Q # 10: Does anyone have a story, personal or second hand, that demonstrates a person moving forward on a plan either in God's timing or the result of doing something on their own timing?

PRAY

1Tao: the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order.

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The Church of Ages (John 4:24; Matthew 23:29-36; Psalm 118:22-24)

-Story from God's Ear

    In an ancient city, a church, in the midst of great excitement and anticipation, was built on the Rock of Ages. It was said that this structure would last for all time because its base was the most secure and stable footing in all the world. The people of that city could hardly wait for the beautiful edifice to be built on this most holy of places. For too many generations to count, they had come together to pay homage to their God on the stone that could not be broken and would stand against all that tried to destroy it. After decades of laborious work, the church was completed. It seemed to rise to the heavens, directing all who saw it to lift their eyes to the God to whom the glorious structure was built. 

Prior to the first service, there was a grand ceremony. The minister, stirring everyone’s emotion and faith, had never spoken so eloquently. The inside of the church was a fit setting for the preacher’s splendid words. Great swooping archways and stained glass windows majestically lifted human spirits and caused the congregation to be glad for what they had done for their God. Never had the believers sung with as much power and joy. They rejoiced in the church on the Rock of their salvation. As time went on, many people forgot about the Rock and began to delight in the church more than for Whom the church had been built. Before the building of the church, everyone who came to that place focused his gaze on He who was the Rock that many believed was the place where God Himself dwelt. Now that the church stood over it, people’s attention was on the building, and not upon the Foundation. The archways that used to direct worshippers’ eyes to heaven now allowed adoration to only reach as high as the ceiling. Their vision of God used to reach to the heavens, but now they could only imagine Him confined within those walls. Instead of a good and limitless God of unfettered imagination, they could now only imagine a god who was only as good as they could imagine.

No longer experiencing the power that was brought into their lives by worshipping together with one heart, people found other more “fulfilling” activities to do on the days of worship. Personal happiness became a goal to many, and they invested in those things that they hoped would bring to them a sense of meaning.The joy that once was natural and true and from which flowed a spontaneous love and hospitality, was now replaced with a desire for things that they hoped would bring them the joy they once felt while worshipping at the Rock. The beautiful structure they had built with their own hands had taken the place of a gathering place at The Rock of Ages. What little truth they now believed was only a dim light of that which they had originally possessed.

As their experience told them that the truths of the tired Old Rock were no longer fashionable or helpful, people began to slip away from attending the church they had built. The structure began to slide into disrepair. The once magnificent spires were dingy and began to crumble. Secure window frames, that held the storied images in stained glass, dried out and, from time to time, a glass would loosen crashing down to the road below. The hinges that held the doors firmly in their casings started to pull away from their mountings, and drafts of wind whistled through the church. Once, a warm and inviting place to pray and congregate with other believers, the church was now cold and austere. The new minister talked a lot about being nice and helping people, but he had forgotten how people were empowered to do so. His message was cold and wintry, like the inside of the church.

Finally, the church was deemed no longer safe for people to inhabit and was closed. People walked by the dilapidated old building and hardly noticed it as they passed. They would say things like, “I don't know why that building still stands. Maybe someone will buy it and use it as a museum of useless relics.”

One day, a man who had heard of the “old teachings” of the Rock of Ages, bought the church property and tore the building down to its foundation—carrying away the rubble. The Rock of Ages, and all of its strength was exposed again. People from miles around came to hear the old truth and to worship together at the Rock. Many hearts were gladdened and lives were changed.

After a few years, a group of believers came to the man who had purchased the property, and proposed that a magnificent church be built on the Rock of Ages. “What a memorial to the power of God it will be!” said one zealous woman. The man thanked her, and kindly declined the offer.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Randy Adamson

    Randy Adamson grew up at the corner of Fifth Street and Ninth Avenue on the north side of Greeley, Colorado. His father and uncle's mortuary was on the corner, his house was first house to the east, and his grandmother's house was the first to the north. This little triangle of buildings became the backdrop of many of the important occurrences in Randy's life.

     During his years growing up, the north side of Greeley housed a large portion of the city's Hispanic population. With a Greek momma, his coloring allowed him to fit in well with many of his neighbors. There were not a lot of Greeks in Greeley then, but he found out that Hispanics, though separated by an ocean and a sea, had much in common with his mother's ancestors. Both cultures had a love of family and valued respect for other people.

     Randy learned early on that when he embellished a story, it had more appeal to his listeners. When he began to write, he discovered that he got himself in a lot less trouble writing fiction than in trying to enhance a true story's weak plot. At one point he considered being a newspaper journalist. After two classes in journalism in college, he realized reporting the truth would not be something he could do with integrity, nor would he have as much fun as when he created his own reality.

     In his senior year in high school, Randy became aware of the reality that God did indeed exist, and if He existed, needed to be worshiped. Since then, his belief in God has played a key role in decisions, practices, and vocations that have effected his life. Bible reading has become almost a daily routine with him, and he has found that he is intrigued by the possible backstories of the characters he reads about. 

    Other possibilities were presented by his reading of Scripture. He became curious about the stones that would have sung out if the people around Jesus had not cried out, “Hosanna.” What was life like for blind Bartimaeus and his buddy before and after they asked Jesus to heal them? There is only twelve verses about the wise men in Matthew. What prompted them to travel seven hundred miles to visit the baby Jesus, while the Jewish spiritual leaders who were three miles away in Jerusalem did nothing? The world around Adamson's childhood, at the corner of Fifth Street and Ninth Avenue, influenced his interest to write fictitious stories that were impacted by his faith. All of his books, God's Ear and GASPAR and PILATE are the result of his musings about Biblical 'What ifs?'.

Saint Pilate?

    June 25^th in the Coptic Church is St. Pilate's Day. To us in the West, having been raised on a diet of vilifying the Roman governor, the idea seems amusing. But the early Church did not see him as such. When you read New Testament accounts of Pilate, you cannot help but wonder why the Governor was not treated with as much contempt as Judas the Betrayer. The Gospel recorders are so matter-of-fact in their treatment of Pilate.

    Early Christians saw Pilate as trying to save Jesus' life, and being an unwilling participant much like Abraham was in the near sacrifice of his son, Isaac. They saw his hand-washing as a foretelling of how Jesus' blood would wash away believers's sins. Pilate was a good guy. The Roman Church, effected by the writings of Jewish and Roman historians who had good reason to cover up Pilate's conversion, passed that tradition on to us. The Coptics and the Orthodox see Pilate in a different light than we do. Is it because they trusted the history recorded by their brothers in Christ over emperor-pleasing historians of the time? Brother Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel, sure seemed to have no problem with Pilate—I think I'll trust his opinion. Happy St. Pilate's Day!

Purchase PILATE: Book Two of the St. Nicholas Chronicles 

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