Rom. 3:9-20

B. Those who break God’s law need to hear, 2:1-3:20.

1.    Rom. 2:1-13: It makes sense that humans, God’s “creatures” who have a freedom whether or not to worship Him, will give an account to Him.  His judgment will be:

a.     According to truth.  The truth evident in creation.

b.    According to works.  The works done by these creatures.

c.     Without partiality.  All will have the same standard.

2.    Rom. 2:14-16: All have access to these “standards.”  Gentiles refer to all the people in the world who are not the people of Israel.  Gentiles did not receive the Law of Moses, but they did receive God’s law in their consciences.  This is a function of men’s minds that tells them when they are now glorifying the Creator and living thankfully before Him.

3.    Rom. 2:17-3:8: With respect to the people of Israel, they will also appear before the Creator.  They had clear access to God’s Law through Moses, and were intended to tell the non-Jews of God’s truth.  Even though they were “teachers of the law” they are not excused from judgment.  They had greater knowledge of God and His laws.  Their judgment will be more severe because their privilege was greater.

4.    Rom. 3:9-20: The verdict is in!  God knows the hearts of everyone.  Mercifully, He has informed mankind that all of them are guilty and without excuse.  3:9: “They are all under sin.”  People are sinful in their character (3:10-12), their communication (3:13-14) and their conduct (3:15-18).  3:19-20 is God’s verdict.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. ²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Whether your knowledge of the standards of the Creator is by your conscience or by the Law of Moses, the conclusion is that God’s law reveals that you are a sinner, guilty before God.  You cannot become pleasing to the Creator by keeping His law because you have already disobeyed it.  His law shows that we are sinners. 

Let us return now to question #3: What does the gospel do?  The answer is that the gospel is the Creator’s power of God to save disobedient men.  It reveals what the Creator Himself has done to enable sinful men to stand before Him in righteousness.  That is the good news truth-suppressors and law-breakers need to hear.

Psalm 119:65-80

 

Psalm 119:65-72 Teth: Affirm God’s goodness in your trial.

Affliction reveals what we are like and how we view God.  It is most common to complain about our trials, or to exalt our pain by constant reference to it.  But these reactions reveal self-centeredness and call into question God’s goodness to us. 

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden (Gen. 3) they did so because they doubted God’s goodness.  God had given them all they needed, and had at the same time denied them access to one tree in the garden.  By eating the forbidden fruit they showed they could not trust God’s goodness.

In your response to affliction are you trusting God’s goodness?  That is what this stanza is about.  There is no question the Psalmist is in a difficult situation.  And yet his opening words are, “You have dealt well with Your servant (v65).”  He proclaims without holding back that God is good and does good (v68).  (This stanza is a great illustration of the oft-quoted promise of Rom. 8:28.)

These are not just pious words without content.  He means it!

·       67: his affliction has increased his obedience.

·       71: he has learned God’s word in a whole new and deeper way.

·       72: even though his trial has been expensive, he doesn’t feel the loss, because God’s word has become more precious to him.

Most people don’t share the priorities of the Psalmist, that insight into God’s word and obedience to it should be more valuable than “gold and silver.”  Rather, they are among the proud whose hearts are “as fat as grease” (v69-70).  The picture is of those who are hell-bent on a life of ease or luxury.  At best their relationship with God is bound up in constant requests to be free of sickness or poverty or persecution.  They would never pray, in their trials, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge” (v66). 

Let us not miss a key to this belief in God’s goodness during the days of darkness.  The Psalmist has a view of himself which is perfect: he is God’s servant (v65).  He acknowledges two things by that title.  First, God is the Sovereign Lord who has absolute power over His creation.  Second, God is a gracious and loving Lord.  Thus, he trusts God’s lordship over him. 

How has God’s goodness been evident in your trial?  Are you growing deeper in His word?

 

 

 

Psalm 119:73-80 Yod:  Affirm Gods faithfulness in your trial.

1 Peter 4:19 says “Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”  That is what the Psalmist is doing in this stanza.

There are times when our response to affliction seems to question whether or not God knows what He is doing.  In fact, any time people ask, “How can a loving God do this or that”, they cast doubt that God is the Creator.  The Creator should know better than to allow wrongful treatment of those He has made (v78). 

Sometimes when people hear this charge made against God they defend God by denying He had anything to do with the affliction.  But that is not the case with the Psalmist.  He affirms: God’s judgments have been right as He has afflicted the believer (v75).

Some may think that this presents God as harsh or cruel, but such is not the case.  It is this faith in a faithful Creator that gives rise to the 5 requests prayed in vs. 76-80.

·       76: he prays that the Creator will be faithful to His word, and will thus be mercifully kind to His servant.  Unlike the gods men devise, the faithful Creator not only afflicts us; He can be counted on to comfort us so we are benefitted.

·       77: he prays that the tender mercies of the Creator will enable him to live.  He knows our need and thus afflicts us accordingly.  But He also knows our limitations and is the cause of comfort and mercy.  (1 Cor. 10:13 and 1 John 1:9 are 2 of many examples of the way God shows mercy in affliction.)

·       78: he prays that the proud, who are used by God in the affliction, will come to be ashamed of their actions.

·       79: he prays to be surrounded by those who fear God rather than by the proud.

·       80: he prays that in his trial he will not be ashamed by disobedience or failure to learn God’s statutes.

All these requests are based in the thought that God is our faithful Creator in time of trial.  In this way we are like our Lord Jesus Christ Who, when suffering on the cross, “committed Himself to Him who judged righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). 

 God made you.  He knows you.  He is faithful in your affliction!

Rom. 1:18-32

 

Question #4: Who needs to hear the gospel? Rom. 1:18-3:20

A. Those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness need to hear, 1:18-32.

1.    Everyone has access to truth about God, 1:18-20.  Everyone can see this truth in creation, in what they see around them.  For example:

a.     They can know God is real.  Anyone knows nothing exists without some ultimate Cause. 

b.    They can know about God.  The nature of what they see in creation, both on the earth and in the heavens, clearly declares truth about the God who created it all.  For example, they can know:

                                                                         i.      Rom. 1:20: His eternal power.

                                                                      ii.      Rom. 1:20: His divine nature (deity).

                                                                   iii.      Psalm 8:3-4: That God and man are different.

                                                                    iv.      Psalm 19:1: That God is glorious.

                                                                      v.      Psalm 104:24: That God had and has great wisdom.

                                                                    vi.      Psalm 148:13: That God must be praised.

2.    Everyone in some way “suppresses” this truth, 1:21-32.  This suppression follows a pattern described in Romans 1:21-32.

People see God in Creation; it is common sense.  But, realizing they should worship and serve this Creator, in pride they don’t treat Him as God, and do not thank Him for His provision in Creation.  They worship themselves and turn their hearts to vain and foolish things to satisfy their souls.  But because people are inherently spiritual, they worship (depend on, trust in) things made by the Creator.  Having made this choice, the Creator gives them over to the unrighteous logical conclusions of their choice to suppress the truth.  They need to hear the gospel!

Rom. 1:8-17

 Question #2: What characterizes the gospel preacher?

This helps us understand what Paul declares in today’s passage.  But it also fits what we need to be when, in Rom. 10, Paul notes that all people need someone to “preacher” the gospel to them.

·       He serves God, v8-9a

–       He is thankful for what God is doing in the Church.

–       He acknowledges that he is accountable to God.

–       He serves with his spirit.

·       He loves people, v9b-12

–       He prays for them.

–       He longs to be with them.

–       He submits to them.  He recognizes his own need to be encouraged and that he has the same faith as the Roman believers.

·       He devotes himself, v13-15.

–       He won’t give up.  He has tried to be with them but been hindered.  (Some of that hindrance involved time in prison for preaching the gospel.  He would eventually make it to Rome via an all-expenses paid voyage as we learn in Acts 27-28.

–       He obligates himself.  He sees that he has a debt, an obligation of love, to settle with those in Rome.

–       He remains ready.

Question #3: What does the gospel do?

·       The gospel is God’s power for salvation.

–       To be saved your friends and family must hear the gospel.

–       How does the gospel do this “saving” of those who believe?  We must know this so that we might have a right relationship with Him.

·       The gospel saves by revealing God’s righteousness.

–       It reveals how a righteous God accepts sinful men into his family!

–       God punished Christ in our place and declared us righteous in Christ!

–       THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY FAITH!

This concludes Paul’s introduction to Romans.  There are many details to learn about the work of Christ as revealed in the gospel. 

Romans 1:1-7

We are about to embark on a “survey of Romans.”  In the past we have done verse-by-verse through Romans (Ch. 1-8 2015 2/20-3/30; Ch. 9-16 2015 11/17-12/31 in our Blog, https://ronandcindy.blogspot.com/).  Recently we journeyed with our fellowship through Romans in 7 Sundays.  We used some diagrams and compact lists to cover Paul’s epistle in such a short time.  We organized our study around ten “gospel questions.”  We pray the Lord will use this to encourage you in that blessed endeavor.  I would encourage you to plan on reading the entire letter to the Romans as you work through these "Ten Gospel Questions."

Question #1: What is the gospel?

The gospel is (by definition) GOOD NEWS.

The gospel is good news from GOD.

Curtis Mitchell (one of my beloved Bible professors at Biola in the late 60’s) put it this way: It's God's gospel, it's His good news, a message that can't be improved upon, a message that must not be distorted, a message that manifests to men the divine provision for their acceptance by the living God.

The gospel is good news PROMISED in the OT.  Here is a very small collection of OT prophesies related to the gospel.

·       Gen 3:15: the 1st sin.

·       Gen 12:1-3: the covenant with Abraham.

·       Gen 22:1-19: the offering up of Isaac

·       Exodus 12: the Passover Celebration

·       Leviticus 4: the sacrificial system

·       Leviticus 16: the Day of Atonement

·       Psalm 16:10: the resurrection of the Savior

·       Psalm 22:13-18: the suffering Savior

·       Isaiah 53: the suffering Servant

·       Hosea 1-3: the marriage of Hosea

·       Good news concerning CHRIST.

The gospel answers the question “Who is Christ?” (3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.)

The gospel declares what Christ did. (1 Cor. 15:3-4: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures)

Gal. 2:11-21, Christ Lives in Me: Real or Metaphoric? (2)

One more post on the reality or metaphoric view of Gal. 2:20.

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My friend had a couple of resources from John MacArthur.  From his NT commentary on Galatians (p60) he speaks of “the effect of the cross.”  Our “union with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.”  While he doesn’t specify “real or metaphorical” he speaks of “union” as very real.  My thought is that the word “crucified with” Christ (yes, one word: sunestaurōmai) suggests a real experience, not just a metaphor.  What happened to the One happened to the other!  And no, I don’t mean I literally bled and suffered physically as Jesus did.  It is the “death” that was experienced. 

In MacArthur’s Liberated for Life: Galatians (the page number escapes me) he says, “I don’t need to work and struggle to get near God.  I know where God is; He’s inside – me.  It’s only a question of yielding to His presence.”  I say: well put.

* * * *

F. F. Bruce in the New International Greek Testament Commentary (Galatians), p144, he says, “In fact, this new life in Christ is nothing less than the risen Christ living His life in the believer. … It is by the Spirit that the risen life of Christ is communicated to His people and maintained within them.”  Amen!

* * * *

Homer Kent (president of Grace Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana) in Studies in Galatians, says (p75) “the meaning is figurative.”  “The identification of the believer with Christ in the theological aspects of the crucifixion.”  Not sure about this.  But then he says, concerning the “crucified with” term, it is perfect tense, meaning past action with continuing effects.  “When Christ was crucified every believer with His Son, and thus believers were crucified with Him.”  Again, this sounds real, not figurative.  Kent believes it’s real, that “the Triune God is in the believer” (John 14:16-17).  Bot Ken and Bruce refer to it as “the resurrection life.”

* * * *

In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Galatians, James Montgomery Boice deals with Burton thoughts (see previous post).  Either 1) Christians experience death and new life because Christ dies for them; or 2) an actual participation of the believer in Christ’s death and resurrection via our ‘mystical union’ (Rom. 6:4-8; Col. 2:12-14,20; 3:1-4).  Boice concludes: the last view is the hardest to understand but is the one involved here!  My thoughts: I would agree with him on both.  The reason it seems “figurative” is because it is hard to imagine or understand this.  But the NT puts a lot of stock in the reality of “Christ in you.” 

Think a bit.  Count on the reality of Gal. 2:20, and the essential foundation of Rom. 12:1-2: bodies presented to Christ, minds being renewed!

Gal. 2:11-21, Christ Lives in Me: Real or Metaphoric? (1)

One of my regular “time fillers” is, when I come across a New Testament commentary I have not seen before and I want to do a quick evaluation is to see how the commentator interprets Galatians 2:20, particularly the line, Christ lives in me! 

We have been in Ireland for a couple months now “filling in” for some friends while they are on duty back in the States.  I sit in my friends office and he has a great collection of Bible reference books.  Thus I have a plethora (love that word) of commentaries I have not seen.  So this post and whatever else follows is for my benefit.  I am thinking about this issue.  Does Christ actually live in me?  That is, do I have His life in me?  Or is this just symbolic or figurative or metaphoric language?  I will share things I have seen and occasionally make a comment on the commenters.

* * * *

International Critical Commentary, Ernest Burton, NT Professor at Univ. of Chicago.

On p135 he says it’s a “metaphor” (being crucified with Christ), not literal.  He says “It can’t be, of course.”  He takes from this metaphor three elements: 1) The participation of the believer in the benefits of Christ’s experience. (2 Cor. 5:15; Rom. 4:24-25; Col. 2:20; 3:1).  2) A spiritual fellowship with Him in respect to those experiences. (Phil. 3:10; Rom. 6:5).  3) The passing of the believer through a similar or analogous experience. (Rom. 8:17; 6:5; Col. 2:20; 3:1).

On p136 he discusses whether this “death to law” is related to Christ objectively or subjectively and says it is not decisive!  On the latter, he says the believer is free from the law by his spiritual fellowship with Christ in death.  On the former, he says the death of Christ brings an end to the reign of law (Rom. 10:4; Col. 2:14).

My thoughts: Perhaps you can see the issue here.  The death of Christ did something objective, something that is true regardless of whether I am a believer in Christ or not.  But then the question is, if I am a believer, is that objective work objective in me?  Is it real to me by virtue of Christ’s presence in me?  The spiritual fellowship he speaks of is my “in Christ” reality.  I say reality, because I see it as an objective fact that something literally has happened to me.  Perhaps Burton is not as certain it is an actual change in me.  One of the things I consider is, does the fact that something in me is “spiritual” mean that it is not “objective” or “real”?  Since I am both spiritual and physical, I consider “spiritual fellowship” to be something real.

Reading further, on p137, related to the phrase, “it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” he says that Paul is clearly speaking of spiritual fellowship.  He says Paul has received “a new power,” which is about like saying Paul has an objective reality, something different that dwells in his physical body.  And here is one other statement: Paul’s “life is so controlled that he conceives Him to be resident in him.”  And (p138, on “the life I now live in the flesh”) he acknowledges that Paul lives a life of dependence on the Son of God.  That is an object statement about Paul and would be a bit strange if it was not based in an objective reality.