Teach Me The Bible
Romans: The Gospel Exalted, Unbelief And Its Consequences (Chapter 1)
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You're listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast, where we unpack the meaning of books, passages and themes from Scripture. Join us each week as Dr David Klingler walks us through God's Word and teaches the Bible. Each episode has a study guide available in the show notes. This is Teach Me the Bible podcast.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone. My name is Tim Webb and I'm here with Dr David Klingler for our Teach Me the Bible podcast. I want to welcome everyone back and I'm really excited about how this is just opening doors for people to understand God's Word. It's been fabulous to see the journey and things begin to unfold and I'm excited about what's to come. I just want to encourage everyone to check out the website, connect with you on the questions and see the Bible studies and walking through the different tools that you've incorporated within the podcast Another way for the people of God to understand and know the Word of God.
Speaker 2:Today we are going to continue down a discussion, or really Paul laying out his case for what he believes his theology. I think you've stated that this is a powerhouse and people have taken this in different directions. Because it's so rich in the theology, we tend to take ownership of it. As we were talking about this earlier today, you highlighted the connectors through his thinking. You really don't have an opportunity. If you think you can, you're really going to have to ignore the language he uses in the original and the Greek. Paul continues to right. When you want to pull it out, he says wait a minute four, or, and, and, therefore, and.
Speaker 2:So, as we move into chapter one and two, help us understand, help us to understand and begin to. Let's just get on the right trail, if you help us, because it's going to be a journey. So I want everyone to just buckle up, stay with us. I've had one gentleman. He said Tim. At first I thought, man, this is going to be over my head. But he stayed in there and he kept listening, he kept looking at it and he'd go back and reread. And he said it just clicked. And when I saw it it was like, wow, I can do this.
Speaker 3:So yeah, you can actually understand what the Bible is saying, but we have to read it and and slow down and actually read to understand what was Paul saying. Why is he writing this, who's he writing it to and what's that? What's the issue here? So it's kind of like listening to one end of a phone call and you kind of have to piece it together. Yeah, the other end, but Paul's writing a letter and, yeah, it's a theological treatise and that's kind of how it's been.
Speaker 3:This is where we go to get our, our theology, but the theology is presented in a letter and Paul's writing this letter to address a specific situation. And the specific situation which he's going to get you right away is he's not coming. He's not coming to Rome. He's got some other things that he's going to do first and then he's going to come to Rome. But he's explaining why he's not coming, but also defending his gospel and why what he's teaching is right and why what the, the Jews, are teaching, is wrong, and so he just kind of kind of jumps right in, and so we'll jump right in with him.
Speaker 3:But a couple of points just before we even get going is, as we were talking about these, these connectors, and. And so in chapter two, for example, verse one, paul says therefore, y'all are without excuse, every one of y'all. Well, and the you, there he goes from. God gave them over. There's this third person group that you know, the them. They group right, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Yeah, god's judgment is upon them, and so it's kind of these people out there.
Speaker 2:And they're okay that it's on them. Yeah, it's on them, it's okay yeah.
Speaker 3:And he says therefore, you're without excuse, whoa, so wait a second. You just brought this and said on my porch Right? And he becomes very consistent in how he uses his pronouns. But if you bear the name Jew and if you rely upon the law and if you boast in God and you know his will and improve the things that are essential being instructed out of law, confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, and so forth and if you teach others, do you not teach yourself? And so his pronouns are gonna become very consistent. He's gonna take it from the general God's wrath is against all who suppress the truth and unrighteousness, and he's gonna put it right on the Jewish doorstep, and that's going to really set the stage for where he's gonna go in the following chapter.
Speaker 3:So let's go back and let's jump in verse one Paul, a bond servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. Boy there, stop, rehearse the whole Bible, right, right. In other words, paul's immediately saying I'm saying what the prophets were saying in the scriptures and what the word of God has always said from the beginning. And the words of the prophets were concerning his son, concerning the son of God who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who has declared the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead according to the spirit of holiness. Jesus Christ, our Lord. So he said, the one of whom all of the Old Testament speaks is the one I'm representing, who has come, who was crucified and who was raised, right Through whom we have received grace and apostleship for the purpose of bringing about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for his namesake.
Speaker 3:Why is Paul taking the gospel to the Gentiles? He's going to explain it. Yes, kind of the story has been laid out in Moses, back in Deuteronomy 32. Israel would reject the gospel, would go to the Gentiles. They would reject the Lord, they would reject the rock of his salvation. But ironically, through this rejection, the gospel would go to the Gentiles and in that rejection all the nations would be blessed. And this is what Paul's going to explain Explain to the Jews, explain his ministry and explain how the Gentiles are supposed to respond to it. And all of this is going to be in this letter, among whom y'all also are the called of Jesus Christ, and so the you Gentiles. Now he's going to return back to this you Gentiles in chapter 11, verse 13. Until then, there's a different you group. In 11, 13, he's going to say I'm speaking to y'all who are Gentiles in so much as I'm an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. If somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection, if Israel's rejection, be reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? This is his whole letter. This is what he's writing. He's explaining why Israel rejected, why he's right, why they're wrong and why the Gentiles have been brought in, and then how the Gentiles are supposed to respond to Paul's ministry and apostleship. So among whom y'all, also the Gentiles, are called of Jesus Christ, to all who are beloved in God of God in Rome, called as saints. Grace to y'all, in peace from God, our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to y'all from our God and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3:One of the things that I think needs to be pointed out in all of these letters. I mean, this is early. This is not 20th century, where Gentiles have been in the church for 2,000 years. This is right at the beginning of of the gospel going out, and so most date this book sometime around 60, late 50s. And so these Gentiles have believed in the God of Israel, the God of a nation that doesn't exist, that's been dispersed, and the promised Messiah, king of a nation that doesn't exist and the people have been dispersed. And so don't miss that irony right it is our God, our Jews God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and you have believed in them.
Speaker 3:First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of y'all, because of your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world, for God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of his son, is my witness of how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers, making requests if perhaps now at last, by the will of God, I may succeed in coming to you, for I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established.
Speaker 3:She's gonna get to that in the later chapters, chapter 12 in particular, that is, that I may be encouraged, together with you, while among you, each by the other's faith, both yours and mine, and I don't want you to be unaware, brother, and how often I plan to come to you but have been presented thus far in order that I may obtain some spirit, some fruit, from you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. We talked about this last time in our introduction. These are verses that we skip because they have no, we think, theological significance. Yeah, it's just Paul talking about coming to them. No, he's coming to them to attain fruit, which is an offering to take it back to the church in Jerusalem, which is under persecution, which is what he's already been doing as he's going throughout Macedonia, and we'll see this in chapter 15.
Speaker 2:And at this point he's been prevented from coming to them.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, and he says but I am under obligation to both the Greeks and the barbarians, both the wise and the foolish. Thus, for my part, I'm eager to preach the gospel to y'all who are in Rome as well, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel. In other words, you pick up this sense that there are people who are saying let me tell you why Paul's not coming. He's afraid to face us, he's afraid to face the Jewish lawkeeper, because Paul knows he's wrong and he knows he's ashamed of what he's teaching and he ought to be. Could they even say he's a false teacher? Oh, yeah, yeah, the Jews, the Jews, absolutely, they are going around trying to crush this new teaching, what they viewed as new teaching, which was Christianity in the synagogue. But if you ask Paul and it's evidence here in chapter one, paul is what you're teaching new? He'd say no, this is the. How does he say it? This is that which was promised beforehand through the prophets and the holy scriptures concerning his son. This is the story.
Speaker 3:This has always been what the Bible is believing, and he's going to set out to prove it. In other words, the Jew thinks he's righteous because he has the law, he's received the law and he keeps the law. And Paul's going to say well, you're not righteous because you've received it. In fact, all it does is condemn you. And you're not righteous because you keep it, because you don't. So that raises the question then, how then is one righteous? Well, righteousness has always been through faith and that's going to be his point.
Speaker 3:So this is an argument over who's righteous and who's not, and who's under God's wrath and who's not. And in Israel there are two groups some who have believed the gospel and have escaped the wrath of God, and some who have not, for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The condemnation that's 8.1,. The condemnation that he's talking about is the condemnation that comes from the law. Now, the law doesn't condemn the Gentile. The Gentile is condemned without the law. The Jew is condemned by the law, and that's going to be chapter 2. And so all of this fits together, and so it's a single letter, and if we don't read it as a single letter, then we're going to get really lost in our theology and we're going to start talking about election and infelapsarianism and all these religious discussions.
Speaker 2:As I'm listening to you and as I've read this many times, it just gets smaller. Once seems like a big, large letter. It gets tighter and tighter, smaller and smaller. As you're connecting all the thoughts, it's a very concise, very specific issue that he's addressing with.
Speaker 3:And so he says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, the Jew first, and then the Greek. That, basically, is the outline of his book. I am not ashamed of the gospel, I'm not ashamed of the once for all faith delivered to the saints, I'm not ashamed of that which he promised beforehand through his scriptures, through his prophets and the scriptures concerning his son. Not ashamed of it. In fact, it is the only means of salvation to all, jew and Gentile, who believe. And so the all. Here is an important word, it's not every one, but both groups, certainly the both groups. There's only two groups of people Jews and Gentiles. And inside the Jewish group there are two groups believers and unbelievers. And inside the Gentiles there are two groups. So there's four groups, and that's it. There's Jewish believers, jewish unbelievers, gentile believers and Gentile unbelievers. And he's going to explain that the Gentile believers are in the group that's escaped the wrath of God, and the Jewish believers are those. They are in the group of people who've escaped the wrath of God, but the Jewish unbeliever is still under the wrath of God Because they do what the Gentile unbeliever does, what all unbelievers do they suppress the truth and unrighteousness, right and so. So the gospel has come to the Jew first and then to the Greek, and he's going to explain why it's going to the Greek, because the Jews rejected it. Right, the remnant believe. The Jews rejected it, for in it, in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Now, that from faith to faith is gonna flesh out in this from the faith of the Jew to the faith of the Gentile. Right, from faith to faith.
Speaker 3:As it is written, and they translate this in the New American standard but the righteous man shall live by faith. But if you're looking your Bible, you probably, if it translates it that way, it should have an italic somewhere or somewhere says well, literally it says this and literally it is. But he who is righteous by faith shall live. Now, that's a big difference. It's not how's one supposed to walk day by day?
Speaker 3:That's certainly an issue, but it's not an issue that Paul's addressing. The issue Paul's addressing is how will one live, how will one attain eternal life? And so he's gonna say in chapter eight for I consider the present suffering not worthy to be compared to the glory which is to be revealed to us, for the anxious longing of all, creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God, for creation itself was subjected to futility in hope, and this hope is resurrection from the dead. Not only this, but we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, eagerly awaiting our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body resurrection from the dead.
Speaker 3:Yes, and so it's not how one's supposed to walk day by day. That's certainly a concern. But the concern is how shall one live eternally? It is by faith one has eternal life. It is not by law keeping that one has eternal life. I'm reminded of a verse over in Galatians, chapter three, and Paul making the same argument. That's why they call Galatians kind of the the cliff notes version of.
Speaker 3:Romans right. Is the law contrary to the promise? May it never be. For if and here it is for if a law had been given which was able to impart life this is 321. Then righteousness would indeed be based upon the law. But the scriptures has shut up all men. The scriptures condemn the Gentile who's not under the law, and the Jew who is, that the promise, by faith in Jesus Christ, may be given to those who believe. And so his argument is the same argument that's used all throughout the scriptures. He's going to quote Old Testament passages all the way through this book and unfortunately, when we quote these Old Testament passages, we don't quote them in context, but Paul does, and so when we get there, like in chapter 3 and chapter 8 and so forth, we'll go back and we'll look at those that Old Testament context.
Speaker 2:So should this be a spoiler alert? Oh? Absolutely we may have Deuteronomy coming in.
Speaker 3:We're going to have the Psalms you know, in chapter 3, all of these Psalms and Psalms in chapter 44. And those Psalms are in relation to the story, and so this will be a story of God study, because that's what Paul's referring to. He's referring to the story of God. So in the gospel, the righteous of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written he who is righteous by faith shall live For the wrath of God. And here's why, right, so you get this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Let me tell you. Let me give you some reasons why I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Number one, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed. Number two the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.
Speaker 1:Number three you know, you just go right down the list down the list right.
Speaker 3:So verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from on heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. And you can just hear the Jew over there going, amen amen.
Speaker 3:Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for he made it evident to them. He revealed himself right. He revealed himself in creation. He revealed himself in his word, through the prophets, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, his divine nature have been clearly seen and being understood through what is made. So they're without excuse, for even though they knew God, they did not honor as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. And, professing to be wise, they became fools.
Speaker 3:Now, this actually goes all the way back to the creation story, right, the enticement of the woman by the serpent. For God knows, in the day that you will be like God's open, your eyes will be open. And she saw that the tree was good for food and good to make one wise. And in an effort to become wise, and proclaiming to become wise, they became fools and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the image in the form of man and birds and four-footed animals and crawling things. They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the image in the form of man. They were created to be image bearers. They exchanged that and they went on and did their own thing. Home image, different image. Therefore, god gave them over to the lust of their hearts to impurity their bodies, to be dishonored among them, for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Hold on to that lie thing, because Paul's going to return back to that discussion over in chapter two I'm sorry, chapter three, but if through my lie, the truth of God abounded to his glory, what's he talking about there? And so we're going to tie this all together when we get there.
Speaker 3:But for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and Paul would say what he believed in the past was a lie, and they worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who was blessed forever Amen. For this reason, god gave them over to degrading passions. Their women changed the natural function for that which is unnatural. In the same way, men abandoned the natural function with the women and burned in their desire for one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving their own in their own persons that do penalty of their error. And as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, he gave them over to a depraved mind to do the things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness and greed, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slanders, haters of God, insolent, arrogant. This is quite a list. Boastful and venerable. Disobedient to the parents without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and although they know the ordinances of God and those who do such things are worthy of death they not only do the same, but give hardly approval to those who practice them. Therefore, you were that excused you.
Speaker 3:They're going wait a second. Yes, yes. So this is this. It's not without cause that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. And what the law is going to do, as Paul's going to argue, is reveal this unrighteousness. It's going to make explicit, it's gonna show them. They're saying oh, I'm righteous. Well, why are you doing that? Oh, I didn't see that, right. And so, when the law is proclaimed, sin becomes clear. This is gonna be Paul's chapter six and chapter seven. And so this exchanging of the righteousness of God for a lie, that's what humanity's been doing since the get-go. I was going to say we still see the same actions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, nothing changed.
Speaker 3:And we change the definition of God, we change the definition of love, we change the definition of what's good and what's right, and we change the definition of what's wrong and what's evil, and we make evil good and good evil. And this is no. This is nothing new either. This is what Israel was doing in the Old Testament and going to be accused of doing in the book of Isaiah, so nothing is new under the sun. Now we're quoting Saul.
Speaker 3:Nothing's new under the sun that man is always making a God in his image and his likeness, making a God like me. I would never serve a God who doesn't agree with me, and all you've done is created a God in your image and your likeness and then worship that God, which is just a form of self worship. It's all it is. And so that's what's been going on from this whole time through, and that's what the Jews are doing. The Jews are creating a God that likes them, that is pleased with them and is not pleased with anyone else, because they keep the law. We'll put that in air quotes A credible elevation of themselves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And so you can hear the Jew over there, amen and Paul in chapter one. But it's going to turn pretty troublesome for the Jew in chapter two, because Paul's going to say what are you, amen and about You're?
Speaker 1:the ones doing it.
Speaker 2:The table's getting turned real quick.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for there's no impartiality with God, for all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law and all who sinned under the law will be judged by the law. And I like this two 13,. We'll get to it next time, for it's not the hears of God or justified before God. It's not the hearers of the law, the doers, it's the doers. So if you don't do it, how does it make you justify powerful argument? And it's going to turn it in the Jews, and so we'll get that next time.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, I want to encourage everyone for wrapping up today to stay with us, because we're going to keep going and it's going to get so tight, it's going to be so good, and I just want to encourage everyone to keep reading and if you have questions, just stay hooked up. It'll come together, and we always want to encourage our listeners to stay connected to the local body of believers, be engaged with others, do life with people, be accountable to God's word and make the word. Allow the word to be the standard and not your own. So, even as we're doing this, so, and all the pastors who are listening, apart some of your seminary students we'll encourage them to continue being lifelong students of the word. It's the best journey you can be on. So thank you, david, for today and look forward to the next time together.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast. Our desire is to use the power of God's word to change lives. For more information, download our app. Join us next week for another episode of Teach Me the Bible.