Larry Reynolds, Denton, TX

           

In the previous two sessions, we have been focusing on that part of Paul’s letter to the Romans where he graphically documents the problem of human sinfulness. This section of Romans is found in Romans 1:18 – 3:20. In this section of Romans Paul establishes that:

In our previous study we focused on Romans 2:1-16 where Paul sets forth five basic principles of judgment. Some scholars see Romans 2:1-16 as a transition passage between 1:18-28 where Paul establishes the guilt of the Gentiles and 2:17­-3:9 where Paul establishes the guilt of the Jews. Certainly beginning in Romans 2:17, Paul focuses more specifically on the sin of the Jews before God.

 

He begins this section by listing some of the privileges that the Jewish people of the 1^st century world were extremely proud. In Romans 1:17-20, which is one long sentence conditional sentence, Paul lists six of the special of the privileges enjoyed by the Jews. He does so to emphasize the increase responsibility that comes with these privileges.

The Jews would have readily agreed with the portrait of privilege Paul paints of them in Romans 2:7-20. And, it is worth noting, the privileges experienced by the Jews in the 1^st century are not unlike the privileges we experience as Christians.

Thus, what Paul says to the Jews as a privileged people in the verses to follow can be applied to us as Christians as well.

 

In verses 21-29 Paul mentions two dangers that accompany religious privilege. Many of the Jews in the 1^st century succumbed to these dangers and many Christians in our day succumb to them as well.

·        “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?” – This is kind of a thesis statement for the questions that follow. Who would have the audacity to teach others and not apply the teaching to himself?

·        “You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal?” – This is a reference to the 8^th commandment and there are many ways of taking from or withholding from others what is rightfully theirs. Jesus criticized the Jewish leaders for failing to support their parents by simply claiming all their possessions were dedicated to God, even though they kept them for themselves! (see Mark 7:9-13)

·        “You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” – This is a reference to the 7^th commandment. Jesus criticized the Jews for making a mockery of marriage and twisting the law to where a man could divorce his wife for almost any reason. (see Mark 10:2-12)

·        “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” ­ - This is a reference to the 2^nd commandment. The phrase “rob temples” means to commit an irreverent act against a holy place. It brings to mind the burning anger of Jesus at the Temple abuses of the Jews. (see Mark 11:15-18)

·        “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking of the Law, do you dishonor God?” - This is the one question to which Paul supplies the answer. Verse 24 answers this question with an emphatic “Yes!” Quoting from the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel Paul said, “‘For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written.”

 

Having made the case for the guilt of the Jews before God, Paul anticipates some objections that Jewish people would raise to his argument. In Romans 3:1-8 he has a conversation with an imaginary opponent who raises some questions about Paul’s teachings in relation to the Jews. These are questions that no doubt had been asked of Paul in his many confrontations with the Jews.

 

Having made the case for both Gentile and Jewish guilt before God, Paul completes this section that spells out our sin problem and thus our need for the gospel with a general statement about the guilt of all people. Stringing together a number of quotes from the Old Testament in the fashion of rabbinical teachers, Paul paints a graphic picture of our sin problem.

In our previous session we saw that the theme of Romans is “the gospel of Jesus Christ.” In Romans we have a detailed account of the gospel preached by Paul. As we go through Romans, it is important to keep the large picture in mind. In the letter are four major movements. After the introduction in Romans 1:1-17, Paul tells us four things about the gospel.

In this session we are going to begin exploring the section of Romans from the middle part of chapter 1 to the middle part of chapter 3 that deals with our sin problem. In this section Paul establishes three major things:

 

Before we explore this passage is some detail, I want to make two general observations that I believe will help us better understand what is being said in these verses.

 

1. The first general observation has to do with the phrase “the wrath of God” (v.18). 

i.         “The wrath of God” against sin is viewed by some people as kind of an automatic force that is built-in to our universe. They see it as a force that naturally resists evil and encourages good. William Barclay takes this view in writing, “There is a moral order in this world, and the person who transgresses the moral order, sooner or later, is bound to suffer … moral order is the wrath of God at work.” [Barclay, Romans, p.18] While that may be true, it does not go nearly far enough.

ii.       “The wrath of God” is the expression of God’s definite, positive displeasure and intolerance of sin. One writer defined “the wrath of God” this way: “The wrath of God is God’s personal although never malicious or, in a bad sense, emotional reaction against sin.” [Barrett] In other words, “the wrath of God”is not an arbitrary outburst of anger or God throwing a temper-tantrum. It is a strong, consistent expression of God’s abhorrence of our sin.

·        This passage makes it clear that God’s wrath causes God to act. Three times in this passage (verses 24, 26, and 28) we are told “…God gave them over…” That is an expression of divine judgment and wrath. The point is God does not remain neutral or unmoved by human sin. The result of our sin is that we become the recipients of God’s wrath.

 

2. The second general observation has to do with the downward spiral of sin. A definite regression can be seen in this passage.

·        The beginning point of sin is idolatry which is rooted in intellectual arrogance (vv.18-23). The result is we begin worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (Romans 1:22-23)

·        Idolatry leads to immorality (vv.24-27). With no God except those gods they have created, people are free to set moral standards however they desire. These verses make it clear the standards people set are very low. 

·        Immorality leads to a rebellious attitude toward God. “…and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)

From idolatry to immorality to open rebellion against God. That’s always the way of sin. 

As Paul observes the pagan culture in which he lived (remember he probably wrote Romans from Corinth, one of the most immoral cities of the ancient world), he gives a scathing denunciation of what he saw. 

The idolatry of the pagan world (Romans 1:18-23) – In this paragraph Paul deals with the question of how can people be held accountable for rejecting God if they have not been told about God. If they did not have God’s revelation in the Law of Moses, how could they be held accountable for not obeying the law? If they had not heard of God’s revelation in Jesus, how could they be held accountable for rejecting Jesus? In response to those unspoken questions, Paul points to the general or natural revelation of God (as opposed to specific or special revelation which culminated in the Christ event). Notice that Paul says in verse 19, “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…” That phrase speaks of two specific forms of the natural or general revelation of God.

“within them” speaks of something God has placed inside of every human to confirm His existence. Some call it conscience. Others speak of it as moral sensitivity. C.S. Lewis spoke of it as the sense of “I ought” inside each person which implies a corresponding “thou shalt.” Whatever you may call it, the point is God has stamped upon our very natures the conviction that some being greater than we exists. This general revelation is in all of us.

“to them” speaks of the outward general revelation of God in the world of nature. Verse 20 further explains this type of revelation. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) As Dale Moody put it, “…God’s invisible nature is revealed through the visible nature…” [Broadman, p.170]. Who hasn’t looked at the stars on a clear moonless night or a majestic sunset or towering mountains and thought of the glory and power of the Creator. The psalmist spoke of that experience in Psalm 19.

The point of all that is those who worship idols—whether it is some figure created by human hands or the more subtle idols of power, fame, material possessions, beauty, education, etc. that permeate our culture—are without excuse. That is because God has revealed enough about Himself to all people, both inwardly and outwardly, for all people to know that He and He alone is to be the object of our worship. The reason idolatry is so bad is that it is a purposeful, deliberate rejection of God’s self-revelation to us. As Paul says in this paragraph, there is simply no excuse for doing so.

 

The immorality of the pagan world (Romans 1:24-27) – Someone has said, “From idolatry to immorality is just one short step.” [Wiersbe, p.23] If we do away with the one true God and create our own gods, in the process we do away with absolute standards. We can do whatever we think will bring us pleasure without fear of judgment. That is the process described in these verses. When people stopped worshiping the true God, it was not long before they did away with truth. Notice the phrase in verse 25, “…they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” The marginal note in your Bible may point out that “a lie” is literally “the lie” indicating that Paul had a particular lie in mind. It is the lie that we can be our own gods and that we are capable of setting our own moral standards. It is the lie Satan used in the Garden of Eden when he told Eve that if she ate of the forbidden fruit she would not die but would become like God. It is the lie that leads one down the pathway to gross immorality. The result of self-deification (the idolatrous act of making ourselves gods) is self-indulgence (a life-style of immorality). This passage makes that abundantly clear.

 

Two statements in these verses sum up the immorality of the pagan world.

·        Verse 24 – “…God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity…” The word translated “lusts” means the desire for something that is forbidden. Barclay describes it as “…the desire which makes people do shameless things which they would never have done if this desire had not taken away their sense of honor and prudence and decency.” [Barclay, Romans, p.21]

·        Verse 26 – “…God gave them over to degrading passions…” The phrase “degrading passions” is one expression of “lusts” and refers to unrestricted, unnatural sexual desire.

 

These verses give a pictures of the moral depravity of the ancient world, which was not unlike the world in which we live. For example:

·        One ancient Roman writer said that “…women were married to be divorced and divorced to be married…” and that some high-born Roman matrons dated the years by the names of their husbands.

·        The wife of Emperor Claudius, Agrippina, would slip out of the royal residence at night to work in a brothel as a prostitute out of sheer lust.

·        Homosexuality was rampant in Rome. Some scholars say that as many as 14 of the first 15 Roman Emperors were homosexuals or bi-sexual. Suetonius, the Roman historian, said of Julius Caesar, “He was every woman’s man and every man’s woman.”

The rebellious spirit of the pagan world (Romans 1:28-32) – This paragraph paints a graphic picture of what happens in the lives of people who choose to be openly rebellious against God. Notice the regression in their lives:

·        First, their thinking becomes corrupt. They are characterized by a “depraved mind” which means a mind incapable of making sound judgments. There is a play on words in the Greek of verse 28. In effect Paul says that since “…they did not see fit to acknowledge God…” God saw fit to give them over to an unfit mind!

·        Second, their corrupt thinking led to corrupt living. The list of more than 20 vices in verses 29-31 describe the lives of those whom God has abandon to follow the dictates of their “depraved minds.”

·        Third, their influence become corrupt. They are not content to lead rebellious, disobedient lives. In addition, they encourage others to join them. Have you noticed that those who live immoral life-styles are severely intolerant of those who do not share in their values?

 

In this section Paul puts forth a convincing case for the sinfulness of the pagan or Gentile world. One writer says of this section of Romans, “Is it not remarkable that so much of what the Bible calls reprobation modern man calls either an illness or an alternative life-style” [LBC, p.31].

 

Having established the guilt of the Gentiles, in the next section of Romans Paul turns to the guilt of the Jews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
1.      We must look for opportunities to evangelize others, not excuses to avoid evangelizing...