1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,300
We're beginning this evening a six-part series that I've entitled Understanding Romans.

2
00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:12,620
I'm not suggesting by that title that somehow in six messages we're going to understand

3
00:00:12,620 --> 00:00:15,420
every detail of the Book of Romans.

4
00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:21,980
My purpose in these weeks is to lay out a structure which will help each of us in our

5
00:00:21,980 --> 00:00:26,060
personal study of the Book of Romans.

6
00:00:26,060 --> 00:00:31,180
It's a framework that I hope to establish which will then allow each of us to go on

7
00:00:31,180 --> 00:00:38,480
in our personal study to really comprehend and grasp this marvelous book in the New Testament.

8
00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,480
Perhaps I should ask if you have one of the outlines.

9
00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,080
They were passed out this evening.

10
00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,140
Some of you may have come in before they were passed out.

11
00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:49,980
So if you need one, just lift your hand and if we have any extras, we'll see if we can

12
00:00:49,980 --> 00:00:50,980
get one to you.

13
00:00:50,980 --> 00:00:53,740
There are a couple up here in front that need them.

14
00:00:53,740 --> 00:00:54,740
Thanks Claire.

15
00:00:54,740 --> 00:00:55,740
All right.

16
00:00:55,740 --> 00:00:59,740
If there's anybody else, just lift your hand and Claire will be glad to get you one of

17
00:00:59,740 --> 00:01:00,740
the outlines.

18
00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:09,420
A way of introduction, let's remind ourselves that when God inspired the writers of scripture,

19
00:01:09,420 --> 00:01:18,180
most often their work was not done in a monastery-like solitude where they would sort of sit at a

20
00:01:18,180 --> 00:01:22,420
table waiting on God for dictation.

21
00:01:22,420 --> 00:01:24,580
It was not done that way.

22
00:01:24,580 --> 00:01:30,780
Even normally they wrote in the midst of circumstances that prompted their efforts.

23
00:01:30,780 --> 00:01:36,700
They may or may not have been aware at the moment of the Spirit's oversight of their

24
00:01:36,700 --> 00:01:39,700
labor in their writing.

25
00:01:39,700 --> 00:01:46,460
They were responding to pressures in their own lives or in their nation or they were

26
00:01:46,460 --> 00:01:50,620
answering charges or questions.

27
00:01:50,620 --> 00:01:53,660
They were rebutting false teachers.

28
00:01:53,660 --> 00:01:56,060
They were giving instruction.

29
00:01:56,060 --> 00:02:02,060
They were recording historical events or they were delivering a message directly from God

30
00:02:02,060 --> 00:02:04,500
to a given audience.

31
00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:09,500
All of these scenarios fit different books of the Bible.

32
00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:15,660
In determining the meaning of what these authors wrote, it is important for us to attempt at

33
00:02:15,660 --> 00:02:23,580
least to understand the circumstances in which the Spirit of God enabled them to write

34
00:02:23,580 --> 00:02:29,980
down the very mind and revelation of God.

35
00:02:29,980 --> 00:02:35,420
Interpreting the Bible is both an art and a science.

36
00:02:35,420 --> 00:02:43,100
It is an art in the sense that the more you do it, the more natural it becomes to you.

37
00:02:43,100 --> 00:02:49,200
For some people who are just starting in their study of the Bible, it seems a little cumbersome

38
00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,460
to think about the rules of interpretation.

39
00:02:52,460 --> 00:02:56,540
But the more you do it, the easier it becomes, the more natural it becomes to you.

40
00:02:56,540 --> 00:02:57,900
It's an art.

41
00:02:57,900 --> 00:03:04,420
But it's also a science because there are certain principles or rules that guide us

42
00:03:04,420 --> 00:03:11,300
so that we can determine the genuine meaning of the Bible.

43
00:03:11,300 --> 00:03:13,380
Let me just suggest to you some of the principles.

44
00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:16,420
For example, there is the principle of context.

45
00:03:16,420 --> 00:03:22,380
You know that well, that no verse is to be taken as an isolated verse but is to be understood

46
00:03:22,380 --> 00:03:29,700
or interpreted in its context immediately and then in a larger context.

47
00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:32,100
There's the principle of language.

48
00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:37,260
In order to understand what the Bible means, we have to understand what the words mean.

49
00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:41,140
We have to understand something about the grammar of it.

50
00:03:41,140 --> 00:03:46,660
One does not have to be a Greek scholar, thank the Lord, to be able to do this.

51
00:03:46,660 --> 00:03:52,660
There are so many tools available today that any of us who've even had no training in

52
00:03:52,660 --> 00:03:59,020
the Greek or the Hebrew can gain understanding of the meaning of words and why words are

53
00:03:59,020 --> 00:04:00,540
in a particular order.

54
00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:05,420
It's important for us to discover the principle of language.

55
00:04:05,420 --> 00:04:07,620
And then the principle of unity.

56
00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:11,800
We need to remember as we interpret the Bible that there are going to be no contradictions

57
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:13,620
in the Bible.

58
00:04:13,620 --> 00:04:20,820
God is a God who is one and in his revelation he is not going to contradict himself.

59
00:04:20,820 --> 00:04:28,940
Then there's the principle of progression, which means that later books, that is books

60
00:04:28,940 --> 00:04:37,300
written at a later time, may in some way modify earlier statements.

61
00:04:37,300 --> 00:04:43,020
We cannot merely go to one book in the Bible and say, well, this statement about a given

62
00:04:43,020 --> 00:04:45,500
subject is what the Bible teaches.

63
00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:52,060
We have to survey the whole of scripture and understand that God's revelation is progressive.

64
00:04:52,060 --> 00:04:56,020
He gives a bit here and a bit there and a bit here and a bit there.

65
00:04:56,020 --> 00:05:00,680
And in order to understand the Bible, we need to compile all of that.

66
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,620
So it's the principle of progression.

67
00:05:03,620 --> 00:05:10,260
And finally, for tonight, let's talk about the principle of history and culture.

68
00:05:10,260 --> 00:05:14,540
In order to understand what the Bible means, we have to know something about the history

69
00:05:14,540 --> 00:05:20,660
of the Bible and the history of the times in which it was written and the cultures in

70
00:05:20,660 --> 00:05:23,300
which the authors lived.

71
00:05:23,300 --> 00:05:31,980
Now once the student of the Word of God has employed those principles, those rules, as

72
00:05:31,980 --> 00:05:38,020
best as he knows how, he arrives at his interpretation.

73
00:05:38,020 --> 00:05:42,700
And once that meaning is determined, then he can proceed on to application.

74
00:05:42,700 --> 00:05:47,300
Now it's very important to understand that you and I are in dangerous territory when

75
00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:53,600
we begin to apply the Bible before we understand what it means.

76
00:05:53,600 --> 00:06:00,060
We have to first of all come to an understanding of its meaning in its original environment.

77
00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:09,180
What did that mean to Paul and to the Corinthians when he wrote this to them?

78
00:06:09,180 --> 00:06:14,980
We first have to understand that before we can understand its application to our lives

79
00:06:14,980 --> 00:06:15,980
today.

80
00:06:15,980 --> 00:06:23,380
It is important to separate, if need be, the application of the author to his immediate

81
00:06:23,380 --> 00:06:31,260
audience in that day and whatever application there may be intended as normative for the

82
00:06:31,260 --> 00:06:33,220
people of God in all generations.

83
00:06:33,220 --> 00:06:38,900
An example of that would be Paul's words to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11 where

84
00:06:38,900 --> 00:06:45,860
he commands that the women cover their heads in the meetings of the church.

85
00:06:45,860 --> 00:06:50,900
Our understanding of that is that certainly that was intended to be an application in

86
00:06:50,900 --> 00:06:59,100
that day is intended to be an application today is another question.

87
00:06:59,100 --> 00:07:04,220
We have to understand the culture of that time, what was taking place in Corinth, and

88
00:07:04,220 --> 00:07:08,900
the principle that was involved in Paul's commandment regarding women covering their

89
00:07:08,900 --> 00:07:11,900
heads in the worship service.

90
00:07:11,900 --> 00:07:16,260
And when we do that, I believe we come to the conclusion that that was not intended

91
00:07:16,260 --> 00:07:21,580
to be a permanent application for the whole church age.

92
00:07:21,580 --> 00:07:27,180
But there is a principle that underlies it that runs throughout the church age.

93
00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:33,520
Well, I've probably raised enough eyebrows now that I'm going to go on without answering

94
00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:38,660
any of the questions that have been raised because our subject is the book of Romans.

95
00:07:38,660 --> 00:07:42,140
Regarding the book of Romans or any other book of the Bible, there really are three

96
00:07:42,140 --> 00:07:46,820
basic questions that have to be asked.

97
00:07:46,820 --> 00:07:50,340
First of all, what is the author talking about?

98
00:07:50,340 --> 00:07:54,380
What's the subject here?

99
00:07:54,380 --> 00:08:02,780
Secondly, what is the author saying about that subject?

100
00:08:02,780 --> 00:08:10,380
And finally, why is the author saying it?

101
00:08:10,380 --> 00:08:16,460
I hope that we will begin to answer those questions as we study the book of Romans.

102
00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:19,980
Let's talk about the occasion for this epistle.

103
00:08:19,980 --> 00:08:24,900
Obviously, there were Christians in Rome.

104
00:08:24,900 --> 00:08:31,220
Let's open our Bibles to Romans chapter 1, and we notice how Paul begins this epistle.

105
00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:40,060
Paul is a bond servant of Christ Jesus called as an apostle, and he explains who he is.

106
00:08:40,060 --> 00:08:47,780
And then he says, verse 7, to all who are beloved of God in Rome called as saints.

107
00:08:47,780 --> 00:08:52,020
And so he is writing to Christians in Rome.

108
00:08:52,020 --> 00:08:54,580
There were Christians there.

109
00:08:54,580 --> 00:08:59,620
They are addressed here as saints, not as the church in Rome.

110
00:08:59,620 --> 00:09:05,820
There were times when Paul spoke of the church at a certain destination.

111
00:09:05,820 --> 00:09:10,300
The suggestion may be here that there were so many house churches in Rome that he didn't

112
00:09:10,300 --> 00:09:12,700
want to use that collective term.

113
00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:16,540
He writes to the saints who are in Rome.

114
00:09:16,540 --> 00:09:22,340
We don't exactly know how the gospel first came to the city of Rome.

115
00:09:22,340 --> 00:09:28,920
Paul did not bring it there first, as he did in many other places.

116
00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,620
The suggestion has been given, and I think it's a good one, that the gospel probably

117
00:09:33,620 --> 00:09:41,100
arrived in Rome shortly after the day of Pentecost, because in Acts chapter 2 and verse 10, it

118
00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:47,980
says that on that day there were visitors in Jerusalem from Rome, as well as many other

119
00:09:47,980 --> 00:09:54,340
places, who heard the apostles proclaiming the gospel.

120
00:09:54,340 --> 00:09:59,180
And so it does seem logical that some of those people visiting in Jerusalem on the day of

121
00:09:59,180 --> 00:10:05,460
Pentecost heard the gospel, they were converted, and then went back to Rome and began to share

122
00:10:05,460 --> 00:10:08,900
this new faith in the Messiah.

123
00:10:08,900 --> 00:10:13,060
And thus the gospel arrived in the city.

124
00:10:13,060 --> 00:10:22,420
It seems that the saints in Rome were mostly Gentile in their makeup, not exclusively to

125
00:10:22,420 --> 00:10:24,580
be sure, but mostly.

126
00:10:24,580 --> 00:10:30,940
For example, here in chapter 1 and verse 13, Paul says, And I do not want you to be unaware,

127
00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:37,340
brethren, that often I have planned to come to you, and have been prevented thus far,

128
00:10:37,340 --> 00:10:46,780
in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

129
00:10:46,780 --> 00:10:53,340
And again, in chapter 11 and verse 13, Paul says, I am writing to you Gentiles.

130
00:10:53,340 --> 00:10:58,220
And so as we think of the Roman church, we need to realize that it was a church that

131
00:10:58,220 --> 00:11:03,420
was in the Gentile capital of a very Gentile empire.

132
00:11:03,420 --> 00:11:12,260
And although Rome had a Jewish colony, that is, a group of people who were Jewish, who

133
00:11:12,260 --> 00:11:21,020
sort of stuck together, it was small in relation to the population of the whole city.

134
00:11:21,020 --> 00:11:25,980
So if the population of the church reflected at all the makeup, the demographics of Rome,

135
00:11:25,980 --> 00:11:31,620
the city, then we would expect it to be a largely Gentile church.

136
00:11:31,620 --> 00:11:35,940
And that's important, as we're going to point out in a few moments.

137
00:11:35,940 --> 00:11:43,300
We see that the population of the church in Rome was cosmopolitan, made up of a lot of

138
00:11:43,300 --> 00:11:49,220
different kinds of people, as suggested by the names that are given in the 16th chapter,

139
00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:53,300
where Paul addresses a lot of people personally.

140
00:11:53,300 --> 00:11:58,460
So Paul had never ministered in Rome himself, even though that had been his ambition, as

141
00:11:58,460 --> 00:12:01,140
we see in this 13th verse.

142
00:12:01,140 --> 00:12:05,380
Plans had been laid, but he had never carried them out.

143
00:12:05,380 --> 00:12:13,380
He had been hindered thus far to fulfill these plans to go to Rome.

144
00:12:13,380 --> 00:12:15,860
I think we see a certain lesson there for all of us.

145
00:12:15,860 --> 00:12:19,300
It is good for us to plan.

146
00:12:19,300 --> 00:12:24,620
I don't believe that God intends for us to fly by the seat of our pants every day of

147
00:12:24,620 --> 00:12:25,620
our lives.

148
00:12:25,620 --> 00:12:31,220
There are some times when we have no choice but to do that, but I believe that God is

149
00:12:31,220 --> 00:12:40,740
a God of order and that he intends that we lay out plans, seeking his will in those plans,

150
00:12:40,740 --> 00:12:46,500
for realizing that our plans may be changed, that God may have other purposes beyond what

151
00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:49,180
we can see in plan.

152
00:12:49,180 --> 00:12:53,180
Paul seems content for the most part that his plans hadn't been fulfilled, but still

153
00:12:53,180 --> 00:12:57,460
there is this longing in his heart to see the people in Rome.

154
00:12:57,460 --> 00:13:04,420
This letter that we have in our hands was written to the Roman Christians when Paul

155
00:13:04,420 --> 00:13:07,460
was in the city of Corinth.

156
00:13:07,460 --> 00:13:13,140
If you want to get your Bible map out and look, you can see that they were not too far

157
00:13:13,140 --> 00:13:16,820
apart but in different parts of the Roman Empire.

158
00:13:16,820 --> 00:13:22,500
A body of water separated the isthmus that were involved.

159
00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:28,900
Paul had visited Corinth on his first missionary journey.

160
00:13:28,900 --> 00:13:34,140
While he was there during this year and a half period, he became very close to a husband

161
00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:39,660
and wife whose names were Aquila and Priscilla.

162
00:13:39,660 --> 00:13:43,060
In fact, it says that he worked with them.

163
00:13:43,060 --> 00:13:48,320
Acts 18 and verse 1 says that the couple had just come from the city of Rome to the city

164
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:49,320
of Corinth.

165
00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:56,780
Paul met them and they were of the same trade, and so he took up company with them.

166
00:13:56,780 --> 00:14:01,540
Now, it doesn't say that they were believers at that time, but the assumption is that they

167
00:14:01,540 --> 00:14:03,900
were believers.

168
00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:08,540
And they probably are the ones who alerted Paul to the fact that there was this large

169
00:14:08,540 --> 00:14:13,940
body of believers in the city of Rome, though he had never been there.

170
00:14:13,940 --> 00:14:17,020
And they told him about the church in Rome.

171
00:14:17,020 --> 00:14:22,500
Well, Paul completed that second missionary journey eventually and then began a third

172
00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:24,760
missionary journey.

173
00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,500
And on that third journey, he went back to the city of Corinth and he stayed there this

174
00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:30,740
time only three months.

175
00:14:30,740 --> 00:14:35,900
But during that time, he apparently got more news about what was happening in Rome.

176
00:14:35,900 --> 00:14:42,260
And during that three-month stay that is described to us in Acts 20 and verse 3, Paul penned

177
00:14:42,260 --> 00:14:45,900
this letter to them.

178
00:14:45,900 --> 00:14:50,300
As scholars have tried to figure out the dating of it, it seems that it was in the wintertime

179
00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:56,780
or early spring of 56 or 57 AD.

180
00:14:56,780 --> 00:15:03,940
And so the gospel had probably been in Rome over 30 years or around 30 years by this time.

181
00:15:03,940 --> 00:15:10,460
It is interesting that the reason that Aquila and Priscilla had left the city of Rome in

182
00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:15,380
the first place to go to Corinth where they bumped into Paul was that Claudius, who was

183
00:15:15,380 --> 00:15:23,480
the emperor of the empire at the time, caused all the Jews to leave Rome.

184
00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:29,720
And one of the Roman historians, whose name is Suetonius, records that also.

185
00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:38,380
And he says that it was because of the disturbances at the instigation of Crestus, C-H-R-E-S-T-U-S,

186
00:15:38,380 --> 00:15:39,380
Crestus.

187
00:15:39,380 --> 00:15:44,020
Now, Suetonius wrote that in Latin.

188
00:15:44,020 --> 00:15:50,660
And if you understand the fact that Christ being written in Latin might be written that

189
00:15:50,660 --> 00:15:57,060
way, it is possible that the reason that Claudius caused the Jews to leave Rome was because

190
00:15:57,060 --> 00:16:06,140
of controversy that arose in the Jewish community over Christ, not a man named Crestus.

191
00:16:06,140 --> 00:16:11,060
That there were some Jews who believed and some who did not, and because of the tensions

192
00:16:11,060 --> 00:16:18,980
that arose in the Jewish community over Christ, Claudius said, all of you just get out.

193
00:16:18,980 --> 00:16:23,940
Because you see, he understood Christianity or the teachings of Christ to be but a sect

194
00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:24,940
of Judaism.

195
00:16:24,940 --> 00:16:30,300
So he just decided all of them needed to leave the city of Rome and a quote on Percival left

196
00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:38,180
eventually came back to the city because they were in the city when Paul writes this epistle.

197
00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:45,940
We learn in chapter 16, verses 1 and 2, that a lady delivered this epistle on behalf of

198
00:16:45,940 --> 00:16:54,060
Paul, her name was Phoebe, and she was a co-worker, someone who was a servant of the churches

199
00:16:54,060 --> 00:17:01,140
of Jesus Christ, and it may have been her planned visit to Rome that determined the

200
00:17:01,140 --> 00:17:04,980
timing of the writing of the letter.

201
00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:12,020
It would seem because of the makeup of the letter, it is so well laid out that the apostle

202
00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:16,220
had well thought through what he wanted to say to these people.

203
00:17:16,220 --> 00:17:21,340
This was not the kind of a letter that was written on the spur of the moment.

204
00:17:21,340 --> 00:17:26,620
He had to sit down and take time to think through what he wanted to say and then to

205
00:17:26,620 --> 00:17:31,140
write it out or to dictate it so that then Phoebe could deliver it to the city.

206
00:17:31,140 --> 00:17:33,980
Now what are the purposes of Paul writing the letter?

207
00:17:33,980 --> 00:17:37,860
We're all in the introduction here yet at this point.

208
00:17:37,860 --> 00:17:43,260
We'll take up the actual text in chapters 1 through 3 next week, excuse me, two weeks

209
00:17:43,260 --> 00:17:51,300
from tonight, but what are the purposes of Paul writing to the Romans?

210
00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:53,700
Seems to me there are at least three of them.

211
00:17:53,700 --> 00:17:56,820
One is that Paul wanted to visit the city.

212
00:17:56,820 --> 00:18:02,100
We've already seen that, and he wanted to prepare them for his arrival there.

213
00:18:02,100 --> 00:18:13,700
It was possible that Paul wanted the church in Rome to be to him what the church in Antioch

214
00:18:13,700 --> 00:18:14,700
had been to him.

215
00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,740
Do you remember that church?

216
00:18:16,740 --> 00:18:22,100
The church in Antioch was his home base for his missionary journeys.

217
00:18:22,100 --> 00:18:28,240
And even as he pens this, Antioch is home base.

218
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:36,300
And he is now perhaps looking at Rome as another home base so that from there he can branch

219
00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:38,620
on further to the west.

220
00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:43,820
For in chapter 15 he tells us he wants to go even as far as where?

221
00:18:43,820 --> 00:18:47,260
Spain, that's right.

222
00:18:47,260 --> 00:18:52,740
And so he may have been wanting to create a new home church kind of relationship in

223
00:18:52,740 --> 00:18:53,740
the city of Rome.

224
00:18:53,740 --> 00:18:55,020
So he wanted to prepare them.

225
00:18:55,020 --> 00:18:59,820
He is saying, look, I'm coming to you, here are my immediate plans, and then I'm coming

226
00:18:59,820 --> 00:19:06,380
to see you, and my plans are to go on to Spain, implication being I want your help in getting

227
00:19:06,380 --> 00:19:07,380
there.

228
00:19:07,380 --> 00:19:13,060
Secondly, and this goes back to the makeup of the church, I believe that Paul is here

229
00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:20,980
addressing tensions in the church between Jews and Gentiles.

230
00:19:20,980 --> 00:19:25,820
There were more Gentiles than Jews in the church undoubtedly.

231
00:19:25,820 --> 00:19:31,100
But there was a tension that seems to have been there regarding how they relate together.

232
00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:38,420
Now Paul had never been there to say to them what he had said to the church at Ephesus

233
00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:44,940
or to the church in Galatia about no longer a difference between Jew and Gentile.

234
00:19:44,940 --> 00:19:49,260
He had not been there to disarm and defuse those kinds of tensions.

235
00:19:49,260 --> 00:19:55,700
And so in this book, you can definitely see that Paul is desirous of helping them understand

236
00:19:55,700 --> 00:20:01,740
that their relationship should not be antagonistic.

237
00:20:01,740 --> 00:20:05,940
For example, in verse 16 in the very chapter we're looking at, he says, I am not ashamed

238
00:20:05,940 --> 00:20:07,820
of the gospel.

239
00:20:07,820 --> 00:20:16,140
It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, notice now, to the Jew first

240
00:20:16,140 --> 00:20:21,660
and also to the Gentile.

241
00:20:21,660 --> 00:20:26,340
So he's saying, look, the Jew had historical priority.

242
00:20:26,340 --> 00:20:30,060
And in Paul's plans, they had priority too in the sense that when he went to one of the

243
00:20:30,060 --> 00:20:34,740
cities where there was a Jewish colony, he would start there and then branch out to the

244
00:20:34,740 --> 00:20:35,740
Gentiles.

245
00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:42,480
But he says the gospel is for everyone, Jew and Gentile.

246
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:47,600
In the next couple of chapters, he's going to say, look, the Jews are under the condemnation

247
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:53,740
of God and the Gentiles alike are under the condemnation of God.

248
00:20:53,740 --> 00:21:00,780
There is none righteous whether Jew or Gentile.

249
00:21:00,780 --> 00:21:06,180
In chapters 9, 10, and 11, he goes to great extent to explain what's happened to the nation

250
00:21:06,180 --> 00:21:08,880
of Israel.

251
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:14,780
And the God is now proclaiming the gospel to Jew and Gentile alike, but lest the Gentiles

252
00:21:14,780 --> 00:21:23,780
should get heady about their position, they'd better remember what happened to Israel.

253
00:21:23,780 --> 00:21:27,980
And so in the book, he is addressing that kind of tension in the church.

254
00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:32,740
It is not uncommon for there to be tension in churches over various things.

255
00:21:32,740 --> 00:21:39,140
Even in the New Testament churches, there were tensions that exist because we are people

256
00:21:39,140 --> 00:21:43,020
and we're not completely sanctified yet.

257
00:21:43,020 --> 00:21:47,180
A third reason for the book, I think, is that he wanted to explain to them the gospel of

258
00:21:47,180 --> 00:21:48,180
God.

259
00:21:48,180 --> 00:21:52,620
And this is very interesting to me, at least the speculation in it.

260
00:21:52,620 --> 00:22:00,260
Paul wants here to demonstrate to them the goodness and the fairness of God to all people.

261
00:22:00,260 --> 00:22:10,100
There is an apologetic here, there is a defense of God, of his person, and of his plan of

262
00:22:10,100 --> 00:22:11,100
salvation.

263
00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:14,740
And he lays it out very carefully.

264
00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:19,700
It is his greatest work, Paul's greatest work.

265
00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:22,500
As you know, he writes systematically.

266
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:30,020
It seems as though Paul may have wanted to systematically and comprehensively lay out

267
00:22:30,020 --> 00:22:38,060
the essential message that he preached everywhere, the gospel of God, so that if something happened

268
00:22:38,060 --> 00:22:47,020
to him, his readers could carry on his work.

269
00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:51,140
I find that a fascinating thought because you remember that as Paul was concluding this

270
00:22:51,140 --> 00:22:58,280
third missionary journey, while he is at Corinth, there are contracts out on his life.

271
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:06,020
He changes his plans in his return to Jerusalem to avoid one assassination attempt that he

272
00:23:06,020 --> 00:23:08,900
was alerted to.

273
00:23:08,900 --> 00:23:14,460
And he was already getting inklings from the Holy Spirit that there was trouble lying ahead

274
00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:21,260
of him when he got back to Israel, back to Palestine.

275
00:23:21,260 --> 00:23:26,380
And so he may have been wanting to get this message comprehensively out to people so that

276
00:23:26,380 --> 00:23:31,380
they would know the gospel of God that he was preaching, and in case something happened

277
00:23:31,380 --> 00:23:39,620
to him, then they in Rome could carry that message on to Spain and to the uttermost parts

278
00:23:39,620 --> 00:23:40,620
of the earth.

279
00:23:40,620 --> 00:23:47,660
Well, let's talk about an overview of the epistle for a moment.

280
00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:56,660
To me, it seems clear that the key verses of this book are verses 16 and 17 of chapter

281
00:23:56,660 --> 00:23:57,660
1.

282
00:23:57,660 --> 00:23:59,660
We read verse 16.

283
00:23:59,660 --> 00:24:01,900
Verse 17 goes on the floor right out of it.

284
00:24:01,900 --> 00:24:11,180
He says, For in it, the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as

285
00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:19,820
it is written, but the righteous man shall live by faith.

286
00:24:19,820 --> 00:24:25,940
The key word or the key phrase in the book is the word righteousness or the phrase the

287
00:24:25,940 --> 00:24:27,780
righteousness of God.

288
00:24:27,780 --> 00:24:38,260
I say that because at least 67 times in the book of Romans, you find a word that is related

289
00:24:38,260 --> 00:24:41,080
to the word righteous.

290
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:50,340
In the language Paul is writing in, he uses the word righteous, righteousness, justify,

291
00:24:50,340 --> 00:24:53,940
justification, and justifier.

292
00:24:53,940 --> 00:24:58,660
And if you add up the occasions of the use of all of those words, it's at least 67 of

293
00:24:58,660 --> 00:25:00,900
them in these 16 chapters.

294
00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:04,380
It's a key thought and idea.

295
00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:08,540
So we need to stop for a moment and ask the question, what does it mean?

296
00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:11,420
It is righteousness.

297
00:25:11,420 --> 00:25:19,820
We think we have an idea of what that means, but how would you put it down on paper?

298
00:25:19,820 --> 00:25:28,620
The word righteousness really means, in its essence, conformity to a standard.

299
00:25:28,620 --> 00:25:29,620
Conformity to a standard.

300
00:25:29,620 --> 00:25:39,580
When it's used of God, when it speaks of the righteousness of God, it means that God conforms

301
00:25:39,580 --> 00:25:49,220
himself to himself, for there is nothing greater for him to conform himself to.

302
00:25:49,220 --> 00:25:57,700
In all of his actions, toward all of his creation, God is righteous because he conforms all of

303
00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:00,700
his actions to all of his attributes.

304
00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:02,780
God is righteous.

305
00:26:02,780 --> 00:26:11,540
That means that he is impartial in his justice.

306
00:26:11,540 --> 00:26:19,460
God is transparent in his holiness of character, and it leads him to be fair in all of his

307
00:26:19,460 --> 00:26:23,180
actions.

308
00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:26,380
God is holy in his essence.

309
00:26:26,380 --> 00:26:27,900
He's holy.

310
00:26:27,900 --> 00:26:33,900
And righteousness is the expression of that holiness toward anything that's apart from

311
00:26:33,900 --> 00:26:34,900
him.

312
00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:40,500
It is how God acts toward anything outside of himself.

313
00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:41,500
He is righteous.

314
00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:42,500
He is righteous.

315
00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:45,820
And it's an attribute of God.

316
00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:53,420
It's more than that in the book of Romans, but it begins there.

317
00:26:53,420 --> 00:26:57,900
When it's used of a man, the word righteousness means uprightness in life.

318
00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:01,700
It means being a person of integrity.

319
00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:04,340
It means being virtuous.

320
00:27:04,340 --> 00:27:11,100
It means being correct in one's thinking, one's feeling, and one's acting.

321
00:27:11,100 --> 00:27:16,620
How many of us are righteous tonight?

322
00:27:16,620 --> 00:27:17,620
I'm not.

323
00:27:17,620 --> 00:27:23,420
I just want to tempt you to see if you would lift your hand.

324
00:27:23,420 --> 00:27:29,260
And that's what the first three chapters of the book tell us, that there's none of us

325
00:27:29,260 --> 00:27:36,140
that conform ourselves to the righteousness of God.

326
00:27:36,140 --> 00:27:38,820
We are unrighteous.

327
00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:44,460
We are not conformed to the standard of God's righteousness.

328
00:27:44,460 --> 00:27:52,940
And so we ask the question, since man is unrighteous, how can he possibly meet the standards of

329
00:27:52,940 --> 00:27:53,940
God?

330
00:27:53,940 --> 00:27:56,900
How can he pass God's test?

331
00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:58,380
Or how can he be right with God?

332
00:27:58,380 --> 00:28:02,260
That's the most important question in the world.

333
00:28:02,260 --> 00:28:04,420
How can a man be right with God?

334
00:28:04,420 --> 00:28:10,940
And that's exactly what the apostle Paul undertakes to answer in this book.

335
00:28:10,940 --> 00:28:16,220
Because man can contribute nothing toward his own righteousness, and he cannot attain

336
00:28:16,220 --> 00:28:26,580
it, his only hope is that somehow righteousness will be provided to him by someone else.

337
00:28:26,580 --> 00:28:28,060
And that's what God has done.

338
00:28:28,060 --> 00:28:34,820
Now the theme of the book, and this refers back now to the outline you have in your hand,

339
00:28:34,820 --> 00:28:39,740
as I thought about the book, and I tried to condense this book into just one sentence,

340
00:28:39,740 --> 00:28:41,940
one theme.

341
00:28:41,940 --> 00:28:45,860
This thought eventually crystallized to me.

342
00:28:45,860 --> 00:28:57,980
I believe the theme of Romans is a sovereign God, a sovereign God demonstrates his righteousness.

343
00:28:57,980 --> 00:29:10,420
A sovereign God demonstrates his righteousness in the world through those who believe the

344
00:29:10,420 --> 00:29:11,420
gospel.

345
00:29:11,420 --> 00:29:17,260
A sovereign God demonstrates his righteousness in the world through those who believe the

346
00:29:17,260 --> 00:29:18,260
gospel.

347
00:29:18,260 --> 00:29:27,140
You know, when the Jews thought of the righteousness of God, immediately to their minds came the

348
00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:34,540
truth that God shows his righteousness through his covenant relationship with Israel.

349
00:29:34,540 --> 00:29:43,660
And thus in the Old Testament the word righteous and mercy or kindness are used almost interchangeably.

350
00:29:43,660 --> 00:29:47,740
When they thought of the righteousness of God, they thought of the covenant relationship

351
00:29:47,740 --> 00:29:52,860
they had with God as his people.

352
00:29:52,860 --> 00:29:58,620
And so I think as we come to this book, whose theme is the righteousness of God, there are

353
00:29:58,620 --> 00:30:00,420
some questions we can ask.

354
00:30:00,420 --> 00:30:07,460
For example, what is the relationship between God and the world?

355
00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:12,980
What is the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile?

356
00:30:12,980 --> 00:30:19,740
What is the relationship between the law and the gospel?

357
00:30:19,740 --> 00:30:25,020
What is the relationship between God and Israel now?

358
00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:31,540
What is the relationship between God and the believer?

359
00:30:31,540 --> 00:30:39,940
And then finally, how does a Christian's relationship to God affect his multifaceted relationships

360
00:30:39,940 --> 00:30:44,080
in the world?

361
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:48,900
And so the way that I want us to approach Romans is to think in terms of the righteousness

362
00:30:48,900 --> 00:30:55,820
of God being exposed in his relationships.

363
00:30:55,820 --> 00:31:00,980
And thus I have addressed the book with the outline that I've given you, which is a little

364
00:31:00,980 --> 00:31:03,500
different than I've used in the past.

365
00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:09,660
I felt like I needed a fresh approach and maybe this will be fresh to some of you.

366
00:31:09,660 --> 00:31:13,700
In chapter 1, verses 1 through 17, we have an introduction to the book.

367
00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:18,060
And by the way, I think in this introduction we have the answer to the three basic questions

368
00:31:18,060 --> 00:31:20,340
we talked about earlier.

369
00:31:20,340 --> 00:31:23,540
A question, what is the author talking about?

370
00:31:23,540 --> 00:31:28,060
Well, we have that in verses 16 and 17.

371
00:31:28,060 --> 00:31:34,980
He's going to talk about the gospel in which the righteousness of God is revealed.

372
00:31:34,980 --> 00:31:40,300
Now what's he going to say about the gospel?

373
00:31:40,300 --> 00:31:50,700
He's going to talk about it being the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

374
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:54,100
And why is he saying this?

375
00:31:54,100 --> 00:32:01,180
He is saying it because the Jews and the Gentiles and the church in Rome need to hear it because

376
00:32:01,180 --> 00:32:07,100
they are having a controversy of some sort.

377
00:32:07,100 --> 00:32:11,860
And one of the questions may have been, and if you know the book of Romans you'll see

378
00:32:11,860 --> 00:32:17,260
what I'm leading to, it may have been, look, the sovereign God established a relationship

379
00:32:17,260 --> 00:32:25,100
with Israel, but he set them aside.

380
00:32:25,100 --> 00:32:29,100
How do we know that the sovereign God who's established a relationship with us isn't going

381
00:32:29,100 --> 00:32:33,940
to do the same thing?

382
00:32:33,940 --> 00:32:37,580
I think personally that that's the heart of this epistle.

383
00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:44,340
Instead of chapters 9 through 11 sort of being a parenthesis that Paul inserts, I think it's

384
00:32:44,340 --> 00:32:47,300
really the heart of the book of Romans.

385
00:32:47,300 --> 00:32:54,020
Well, we come then to Roman number one, the relationship of God to the world.

386
00:32:54,020 --> 00:32:58,100
Chapter one, verse 18 through chapter three, verse 20.

387
00:32:58,100 --> 00:33:01,780
The relationship of God to the world.

388
00:33:01,780 --> 00:33:08,100
And if we summarize that, it's probably verse 18 of chapter one, the wrath of God is revealed.

389
00:33:08,100 --> 00:33:13,300
And we'll develop that in a couple of weeks.

390
00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:17,860
Roman numeral two, the relationship of God to believers.

391
00:33:17,860 --> 00:33:24,420
Chapter three, verse 21 through chapter eight, verse 39.

392
00:33:24,420 --> 00:33:30,780
What is the new relationship that we have to God because of our faith in Jesus Christ?

393
00:33:30,780 --> 00:33:35,420
He concludes chapter eight by saying, we're secure.

394
00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:41,020
There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ.

395
00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:48,140
And you see there he begins to address this question I posed a few moments ago.

396
00:33:48,140 --> 00:33:53,100
Well, what about what happened to Israel and what may happen to us?

397
00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:56,320
He says there's nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ.

398
00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:02,800
And then he says, chapters nine, 10, 11, let me tell you what happened to Israel.

399
00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:07,860
And that brings us Roman numeral three, the relationship of God to Israel.

400
00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:12,620
Chapter nine, verse one through chapter 11, verse 36.

401
00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:16,620
Deep, deep chapters.

402
00:34:16,620 --> 00:34:23,460
And then finally, number four, the relationship of believers to their environment, to the

403
00:34:23,460 --> 00:34:30,700
world in which they live, to one another, to unbelievers, and so on.

404
00:34:30,700 --> 00:34:34,260
Chapter 12, verse one through chapter 15, verse 13.

405
00:34:34,260 --> 00:34:38,460
And then he concludes the book with a rather lengthy section dealing with personal plans,

406
00:34:38,460 --> 00:34:40,660
greetings, and prayer.

407
00:34:40,660 --> 00:34:45,540
So that's the outline we're going to attempt to follow over these next five weeks as we

408
00:34:45,540 --> 00:34:46,980
lay out the book of Romans.

409
00:34:46,980 --> 00:34:51,620
And what I would encourage you to do is to read at least the chapters we're going to

410
00:34:51,620 --> 00:34:55,180
deal with the next time in preparation for it.

411
00:34:55,180 --> 00:34:58,580
If you want to, you could read the whole book of Romans each time.

412
00:34:58,580 --> 00:35:00,180
That would even be better.

413
00:35:00,180 --> 00:35:05,060
But it would really help if you would at least read the next section that we will be dealing

414
00:35:05,060 --> 00:35:06,060
with.

415
00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:09,140
What do we expect to gain from studying the book of Romans?

416
00:35:09,140 --> 00:35:16,580
First of all, a clear understanding of how God sees the world of humanity.

417
00:35:16,580 --> 00:35:20,900
And related to that, we're going to gain a grasp of the character of God.

418
00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:22,300
Do you know something?

419
00:35:22,300 --> 00:35:25,220
Our world does not know God.

420
00:35:25,220 --> 00:35:29,720
Our world does not understand the nature of God.

421
00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:36,340
And because of that, our world does not have a clue as to how God sees it.

422
00:35:36,340 --> 00:35:40,060
And the fact is, there are many Christians the same way.

423
00:35:40,060 --> 00:35:46,060
If we will understand what God is like, we don't really understand how God sees the world.

424
00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:48,700
We're going to gain that in our study.

425
00:35:48,700 --> 00:35:53,140
We're going to gain some comprehension of the marvelous plan of salvation.

426
00:35:53,140 --> 00:36:00,660
And we're going to gain insights into what it means to live a godly life.

427
00:36:00,660 --> 00:36:03,020
So those are the goals that we've set before us.

428
00:36:03,020 --> 00:36:09,420
I appreciate your being here tonight as we've laid the groundwork for that.

429
00:36:09,420 --> 00:36:13,780
And now may God the Holy Spirit help us as we begin to build.

430
00:36:13,780 --> 00:36:19,140
Would you bow with me please as we pray?

431
00:36:19,140 --> 00:36:21,900
We need the Holy Spirit to be our teacher.

432
00:36:21,900 --> 00:36:24,620
I wonder where you're seated there.

433
00:36:24,620 --> 00:36:29,220
If you would say to the Lord, teach me this book.

434
00:36:29,220 --> 00:36:39,540
Lord, give me a framework so that I can study and grasp the book of Romans.

435
00:36:39,540 --> 00:36:42,940
Ask the Holy Spirit to be your teacher.

436
00:36:42,940 --> 00:36:52,020
Father, we give thanks to you for the marvelous miracle of inspiration.

437
00:36:52,020 --> 00:36:58,500
That in a certain context of his life, the apostle Paul thoughtfully sat down and wrote

438
00:36:58,500 --> 00:37:00,580
out this book.

439
00:37:00,580 --> 00:37:06,420
Perhaps being unaware that the Holy Spirit was at that moment guiding and superintending

440
00:37:06,420 --> 00:37:14,180
his words so that it would become a part of your revealed will for us.

441
00:37:14,180 --> 00:37:19,140
Thank you for these marvelous chapters we're going to be looking at.

442
00:37:19,140 --> 00:37:22,620
We humble ourselves before this book.

443
00:37:22,620 --> 00:37:24,740
None of us can master it ultimately.

444
00:37:24,740 --> 00:37:32,740
But oh, how we seek to be students of it, to learn it for our own sake and for the sake

445
00:37:32,740 --> 00:37:34,380
of others around us.

446
00:37:34,380 --> 00:37:38,220
So be our teacher, we pray.

447
00:37:38,220 --> 00:37:43,940
And bathe our hearts in the grace of God.

448
00:37:43,940 --> 00:37:53,020
Cause us to see that you, the sovereign God of the universe, that you desire to demonstrate

449
00:37:53,020 --> 00:38:06,940
your righteousness in the world through those of us who have believed this gospel of Christ.

450
00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:23,780
In Jesus' name, amen.