Romans 1:8-25

Paul’s introduction continues from last week writing to those who are loved by God and called to be saints. This was a fellowship that God was building and Paul was focused on a full presentation of the Gospel.

Romans 1:8-10
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

This is how we know that Paul had not been to visit the Church in Rome but that he wanted to visit and that they were well known as a major work of God. Paul’s faithful prayers and probably the prayer of other Apostles were answered by the work of the Holy Spirit but, as far as we know, without direct apostolic teaching by the time of the epistle.

Romans 1:11-12
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Paul had the heart of a pastor in wanting to minister to the Church in Rome. The fellowship we have in church is supposed to be an encouragement to each other. It is part of the life of the Body of Christ.

Romans 1:13-15
I want you to know, 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. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Paul’s special ministry was to Gentiles so naturally he would want to visit a fellowship that was growing and well known as a work of God. Remember how Paul started this epistle? He started by telling the Romans that he was a servant of Christ. As servants we don’t decide how we will serve and we see that here with Paul. He wants to go and visit Rome but he has obligations to upscale (Greek) and literally barbarian churches and as a servant God will determine where he preaches and teaches.

Romans 1:16
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.

Paul knew that the Gospel was the power of God to people who were religious like the Jew and also to the cultured and intellectuals of the day such as the Greeks. Paul was not avoiding Rome and he really had a desire to be there ministering to the Roman church.

Romans 1:17
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

As Paul preached the Gospel to either Jews, Greeks, or barbarians it empowered salvation and birthed faith as a Grace gift in the hearts of those who heard him. Those who Christ justified were righteous and lived their lives by faith. Keep in mind also the Means of Grace since God uses those in our lives to produce righteousness from faith for faith.

Romans 1:18-19
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

It is striking that Scripture makes it clear that, prior to salvation, we suppressed the truth. When we lived lives that were ungodly and unrighteous we were suppressing truth and not simply ignorant of the truth. God says that even apart from the Gospel revelation in Scripture that His revelation in nature and in logic was sufficient to convict apart from our active suppression of the truth. Most unbelievers will look at you like you are nuts and argue that you are just plain wrong if you tell them Scripture says that.

Romans 1:20
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.

So Scripture teaches that God’s natural revelation is not just sufficient to prove His existence but that it also is sufficient to remove any excuse for unbelief. There are going to be some unhappy folks at the judgment throne. The proofs of God are sufficient to remove any excuse but they are not effective apart from the Holy Spirit because the blindness of our sin natures and our suppression of the truth will prevent it. For example, the ontological proof of God is true and the argument to first causes is also a true proof of God (even Aristotle found that one convincing). Prayer and the Holy Spirit are essential to evangelism.

Romans 1:21-23
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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

This process was our life process and would still be our life process except from the mercy of God. The end result is the acceptance of false gods so that we mistakenly attribute the glory of God to creation. For example, we start to think that our future is controlled by fate or that we control our lives by positive thinking. The Roman gods were like men with all the problems and sins of men. It is difficult for me to even think seriously of someone worshiping them. Our modern position is ironic in that we sometimes elevate animals and attempt to lower God to earth. So we exchange the glory of God for calling the earth our mother and animals our brothers and sisters. I once listened to a native American speaker who objected discussing our role to nature as a stewardship role because that inferred that we were superior to nature. If he had a biblical understanding of God then being given a stewardship role not only doesn’t make you superior (i.e., a husband’s stewardship role over wife and family) it subjects to you discipline from one who is superior if you do a poor job. It is the habit of our culture to give glory to things other than God such as fate, chance, or mother earth and we as Christians must not pick up bad habits. As our Piper quote says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Romans 1:24-25
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 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.

One of God’s gifts of Grace is His gift of conviction of Sin and when we set our heart on things other than God we numb ourselves to God’s conviction. When God withdraws His Holy Spirit we are lost and head into error. When we see others in sin then we can’t feel superior and we also realize that the sin they are manifesting is symptomatic of rejecting God. We will be called to love sinners and hate sin. One of the first steps is to realize that God’s work of Grace is alive in your life and now you can pray for that to operate in other’s lives.