- Rotten Sinner (1:18-32)
- Self-Righteous Sinner (2:1-16)
- Religious Sinner (2:17-3:20)
Each group has their light, not the gospel as we know it, but light none the less for which God holds them accountable and responsible:
- Rotten Sinner (1:18-32) - has the light of creation
- Self-Righteous Sinner (2:1-16) - has the light of conscience
- Religious Sinner (2:17-3:20) - has the light of law or covenant
Then the conclusion is drawn, often quoted outwith the context of Romans, in which the Spirit of God and the apostle Paul has invested much time and effort proving the truth of the statement:
"For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God" (3:23)
There is only one way of salvation and one way back to God (1:16-17) Over the years and generations God has given humanity every opportunity to try the options:
- A perfect environment - Eden (Gen chps1-3)
- A perfect education - Adam and Eve left Eden with the "knowledge of good and evil", now 'enlightened' with their new enlightenment would this prove the way back to God?
- A perfect organisation - The law with legislation on human government, worship, contract, families, relationships, marriage, business, farming and even health!
All of these means have failed
There is only one way back to God: Justification by faith (1:16-17; 3:21) Perhaps very often this pattern that is true of humanity as a whole, down through many generations is worked out often times in the individual lives of men and women:
- Start in infancy in innocence (Jer19:4; Jonah 4:11; Matt18:1)
- Move to self confidence and knowledge and education
- Progress to the organisation of religion / a system / a method
- By grace finally arrive at the only means of salvation: justification by faith
In Romans chp 1 man sinks deeper and deeper into sin and degradation:
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts... For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” (Rom 1:24-28)
- "God gave them up" (1:24)
- "God gave them up" (1:26)
- "God gave them over" (1:28)
Man is able to fall deeper into sin and degradation There are many ways down There is only one way up and out: “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Eph 2:6)
Romans Chp1 vs 16 - 28 :
- Revelation of the Righteousness of God (v16-17)
- Reasons for the Wrath of God (v18-20)
- Results of the Rejection of God (v21-28)
- Every refusal of God followed by a removal from God
- Every rejection of God followed by a response form God
- Every step away from God followed by a stoop further into degradation
- Every wrong decision followed by consequent disaster
The "wrath" of God is here 'revealed' in the present tense. How is His wrath presently revealed?
By: "handing sinners over to themselves" (John Stott):
- "God gave them up" (1:24)
- "God gave them up" (1:26)
- "God gave them over" (1:28)
Sometimes the worst words we can hear form God is: 'that's fine, have it your way,' that's what we ant isn't it? To do it our way? To be our own boss? From this subject arises another question - is God righteous in revealing His wrath upon sinful men and women? Do men and woman really deserve it? This section begins with the revelation of the wrath of God against man (1:18) This wrath is in response to, proportionate response to and appropriate type for type response to the decisions made by man. This section presents a 4 fold rejection of Gods revelation:
Worship of God (v18) "ungodliness" : “ἀσέβεια” : literally 'unworshipfullness' So why is God angry with us? Why is His wrath revealed? Surely we haven't done anything, have we? At least many seem to be under the impression that individually whilst we may have our faults and failings, hell is most certainly for someone else and well our life is lived to a pretty high standard and we surely haven't done anything, have we? Gods first condemnation in Romans 1:18, Gods first reason for wrath is: "you haven't done anything"! "ungodliness" : “ἀσέβεια” : literally 'unworshipfullness' A failure to worship God God expects to be Central to and He expects to be Sovereign over my life Not just to be an accessory or an appendage to my life! The testimony of creation is intended to leave me awe struck before the creator and to bow my heart and my head in worship! Indulgent in life but ignorant of the life giver. Delighting in creation but despising the creator. The worship of God is righteously and reasonably expected / demanded by the creator God. In refusing to worship God man rejects the work of God. God is not looking for man to simply believe in God: consider the strange repetition of Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 - repeated almost word for word - unbelief in God is foolish: "The fool has said in his heart there is no God." "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19 God is not looking for us simply to believe in Him but rather God expects our 'worship' - that is a response of heart and of life whereby we are humble before Him: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." (Micah6:8) "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isa57:15) Worship begins by living out my life subject to the God of creation who is absolute and sovereign over all things including me!
Ways of God (v18)
"unrighteousness" Man rejects not only creations testimony but also consciences testimony : “who hold the truth in unrighteousness” - the truth is held in an atmosphere of unrighteousness. The truth shines gloriously even in the darkest moments of man's rejection of God! As man attempts to live an unrighteous life, man's unrighteousness is a constant testimony to the fact that there is a standard he has fallen short of! Ravi Zacharias in his book recounts the testimony of the conversion of one atheistic philosopher to Christ. It was studying the events of the Nazi holocaust that led this prominent atheist to Christ! It was as he read the stories of the survivors of this holocaust and of how some had risked their lives to help them that he felt compassion and emotions that the old atheistic professor never knew he even had. Studying those days of great evil led that professor to see that these events were set within a moral context! A moral context that he understood and felt deep within himself, intuitively. Good and evil, right and wrong did exist, he knew it, he felt it and the moral discernment between right and wrong was built into humanity. Man's unrighteousness constantly stands testimony to the absolute fact of the Divine truth which it attempts to reject.
Man rejects Gods testimony:
Wisdom of God (v18):
"who hold the truth in unrighteousness"
Works of God (v19-21): Man rejects the testimony of creation: the works of God. Verse 19 presents 2 aspects to this testimony:
- "In them" (v19) - The testimony of consciousness rather than of conscience which is the subject of chapter 2
- "unto them" (v19) - The testimony of creation
- "In them" (v19) – Subjective
- "unto them" (v19) – Objective
- "In them" (v19) - the experience
- "unto them" (v19) - the evidence
- "In them" (v19) - the appreciation
- "unto them" (v19) - the revelation
God has not only given us the evidence of His eternal power and Godhead but He has provided the keys to interpret and to understand that evidence, the keys of intelligence, enquiry, reason and understanding, cause and logic. We desire to know why and to know the answer and to find and understand the answer CS Lewis: 'unless God created me and created the universe I can think of no reason why I should be able to understand that universe.' A car is a product of the car factory but it has no ability to understand the factory from which it came! Why is there not only a universe and creation but why do I have the desire and the ability to understand?
"Godhead" - difficult word to translate, all that is associated with God Certainly involves:
- Intelligence - God is clever; DNA, life, design, the cell
- Beauty - creation is not a purely mechanical phenomena, marked by colours and attractiveness, birds singing and children laughing and the beauty of the butterfly, fragrance of the rose
As man rejects the
- worship of God,
- ways of God,
- wisdom of God and the
- works of God,
the "wrath of God is revealed" But they haven't actually heard about Christ? They haven't actually heard the gospel as we know it, have they? They haven't had Gods final testimony: the WORD of God, written and incarnate? Lets examine what we have rejected so far:
- In rejecting the Creator (Rom1:20) – they reject Christ (John1:3)
- In rejecting the light of Conscience (Rom1:19) they reject Christ (John1:9)
- In rejecting the truth (Rom1:25) – they reject Christ (John14:6)
- In rejecting Divine illumination (Rom1:21) – they reject Christ (John1:9)
If man rejects the
- worship of God,
- ways of God
- works of God and the
- wisdom of God,
is God then morally obliged to reveal the word of God to them?
Consider the Samaritan woman at the well who was able to discuss God, worship, the temple, as well as Jacob and Moses:
“The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” (John 4:25) – Christ is the fullness and the fulfilment of all revelation and the woman was ready to receive Him. We cannot expect to receive the fullness (Eph1:23) if we reject that which is in part (1Co13:12) We cannot expect to receive the reality if we reject the shadow (Heb8:5; 10:1) How can God speak to someone with their fingers in their ears (Zech7:8ff; Matt11:15ff; 13:9ff; Acts7:57) Surely God must take their fingers out of their ears? But God is looking for willing hearts to be given over to Him! So God moves by convicting and convincing men to take their fingers out of their own ears! What then is the result of revealing the gospel of Christ or the person of Christ to an unbelieving mind and heart? The experiment was done: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:10-11) “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
What are the consequences of this 4 fold rejection of God?
- Religious Confusion (vs21-22) - from rejecting His Worship
- Moral Confusion(v23-24) - from rejecting His Ways
- Creatorial Confusion (v25-27) - from rejecting His Works
- Intellectual Confusion (v28) - from rejecting His Wisdom
Each deliberate decision made by man is followed by a downward stoop permitted by God One of the worst words a man can ever hear from God is: 'ok have it your way.' Man desperately wants to 'do it my way' and in Romans chapter 1 God lets him! Note that the downward spiritual spiral is at man's instigation God merely confirms man's decision and withdraws restraining grace: Every refusal of God followed by a removal of grace Every rejection of God followed by a response from God Every step away from God followed by a stoop further into degradation Every wrong decision followed by consequent disaster
Religious Confusion(vs21-22) - from rejecting His Worship As a direct result of refusing Gods testimony in creation, refusing to Glorify God and refusing to be 'thankful', they became 'vain' - proud, self centred men who with no God in their life become their own gods! This directly results in "their foolish heart was darkened" Hinduism: worship a half elephant god, monkeys, cows, rats and dogs.
Moral Confusion (v23-24) - from rejecting His Ways Not only now rejecting Gods authority and His worship but making God in their own image! They decided what God would look like They corrupted their view of God, they mocked the image of God! They create their own view of God and consequently live by their own standards Such false religious systems are usually fairly easily spotted - they are created from the perspective of earth, bringing God down to mans level rather than lifting man up to Gods level! Note that Gods response is proportionate, righteous and fair Man has corrupted the image of God (v23) God gives man up to corrupt mans image "to dishonour their own bodies" (v24) 'if it feels good do it'
Creatorial Confusion (v25-27) - from rejecting His Works "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (v25) "God gave them up unto vile affections" Gods response was to allow that very creatorial order to break down in their own married lives, home lives and relationships This was a fair "recompence of their error which was meet" (v27) - in other words - fairs fair In rejecting the Creator and the Creatorial Order which He instituted man forgot that his own existence depended upon this very order! Like the old cartoons of the man sitting in the tree cutting off the branch he is sitting on. Intellectual Confusion (v28) - from rejecting His Wisdom "δοκιμάζω" - 'did not like to' "ἀδόκιμος" - 'reprobate' They rejected God and therefore God gave them over to possess the mind of a God rejecter. Men poured the jelly into the mould - God allowed it to set! Is God righteous in revealing His Wrath against man? Gods wrath is revealed as a step by step response to the decisions man makes! Why does God respect the decisions man makes? Because God cannot both fulfil and not fulfil His Purpose! What is Gods purpose? 2 Fold:
- Relationship (Eph1:5) - "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will"
- Resemblance (1 John 3:1ff; Rom 8:29)
God cannot fulfil His Purpose of having men and women conformed to the image of His Son by having them conformed to the image of a machine. To be like Christ, to be conformed to the image of His Son, we must respond to God of our own volition: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." (Psalm 40:6-8) Hence one of the oldest lessons taught in the Word of God concerning the life of the man or woman of God: “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” (1Sa 15:22-23) To refuse to do what God tells me to do is a very serious sin indeed – it hits at the very core of what it means to be a believer! Be ruthless in judging disobedience to the Lord and self will in your life. A person cannot be both be born again and converted to Christ and consistently disobedient and self willed – the two are diametrically opposed. To be like Christ cannot come from Divine Compulsion it must come from willing devotion, a response to the love of God in His Son! In election and predestination we see Gods great vision for the true potential of man. We cannot fulfil that vision and potential and simultaneously refuse to fulfil it!
Consider:
- Gods view of man in creation - Psalm 8
- Gods elevation of manhood in the incarnation - Phil 2:8; Heb2:11
- Gods purpose for man in election and predestination - Rom8:29; 1 John 3:1ff
Could man ever fulfil that vision of humanity and simultaneously not only
- Reject the Worship of God
- Reject the Works of God
- Reject the Ways of God
- Reject the Wisdom of God
but also have an attitude / heart of rejection? Herein lies the problem! If man will not voluntarily submit to the grace of God and respond to the love of God and come under the mercy of God enjoying the salvation of God, then God has no use for, no purpose for and no place for the wilful rejection of Himself in eternity! The acceptance of Gods salvation and repentance must be voluntary, since Gods purpose for man is ultimately to be like Christ - to be conformed to the image of His Son. God created man twice: Out of the dust of the earth – this act of original creation was totally passive on the part of man, we had nothing to do with it. “in Christ” - Gods work in the new creation (2Co5:17) and the new birth (Jo3:3) represents a new and greater work of God (Eph2:10; Phil2:13). In this work however God does not start off with the dust of the ground He works on man with a consciousness and a will. This work of the new creation whilst it is all of God is not passive on man's part. God requires the willing surrender of man's will, man's desire for Christ and man's devotion to Christ (Rev3:20). To be conformed to His image cannot be by compulsion, for the essence of Christ is love and love cannot be by compulsion or it is not love at all but rather duty.
https://graceinchrist.org/romans
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