So, if you remember from the last lesson, Paul is in Corinth (Acts 20:1-3) towards the end of his third missionary journey. The year is AD 58 and he has just finished writing his letter to the Galatian church. He also writes his letter to the Romans this same year, even though he will not actually get to Rome until at least three years later in AD 61.
Paul’s letter to the Roman church is different than those we have looked at so far for several reasons. First of all, he didn’t establish the church in Rome. And, he didn’t write this letter to correct any problems there. He wrote it for the purpose of instructing this church made up of mostly Gentiles, but with a small group of Jewish believers, in proper doctrine.
For this reason, we see in the Book of Romans an organized, systematic presentation of doctrinal truths. This was Paul’s way of putting his apostolic credentials on display, hoping that these believers in Rome would receive him when he came (which they did). Here, Paul develops the major themes of the unrighteousness of man, the righteousness provided by Christ and imparted to men by faith, the place of Israel in God’s plan and instruction in righteous living.
And, he simply wanted to introduce himself and express his desire to visit at some time in the future. It is evident from what Paul says in Romans 1:13 that he wanted to go to Rome, but circumstances had not yet allowed it. Then we find in 15:24 that his real intention was to undertake a fourth missionary trip to Spain, but stop in Rome for a brief visit on his way.
As we will see shortly (the summer of this same year), Paul will return to Jerusalem, be arrested, and eventually be forced to appeal his case to Caesar. Then, after a series of trials, he will sail to Rome under guard, where he will remain until his death in AD 67. Both Peter and Paul are killed in Rome during a time of extreme Christian persecution; however, the details of this are not found in Luke’s account. So, when we get to that point, I will glean as much information from historical accounts as possible to try to explain the events leading to their deaths.
But for now, let’s look at the major themes found in this book. The first one listed above is the unrighteousness of man. This passage begins in Romans 1:18, “God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (back) the truth in their unrighteousness.” To get the full meaning of what Paul is saying here, “ungodliness” is from asebeia, a lack of reverence describing those who do not fear God, “unrighteousness” is from adikia, a word used to indicate that which is wrong, contradicts the truth of God or violates His righteous character and “hold” is from katecho, to hinder or suppress.
Of course this statement applies to men today, just as it did in Paul’s day. Where there is no fear of God, wrong ideas flourish and these wrong ideas are then used to destroy God’s truth and lead to wrong thoughts and actions. Let me summarize Paul’s argument here:
-The invisible things (the existence of God and His power) are clearly understood by the visible, complex design of His creation (verses 19-20).
-Since men refused to give God credit for what they saw, their godlessness led them deeper and deeper into false reasoning. Thinking they were wise, they became fools and exchanged the reality of God for worthless images, idols representing mere men, birds, beasts and reptiles (verses 21-23).
-So God let them experience the consequences of their wrong reasoning, a downward spiral into unrestrained lust and sexual perversion. They traded the truth of God for a lie and began to worship what had been created, instead of the One Who created it. God abandoned them to their depraved passions (the term “uncleanness” in verse 24 is from akatharsia, in context a clear reference to homosexuality), women having sexual relations with other women, and men with men. With no Godly influence, their sin could run its full course to the only end result possible – His judgment (verses 24-27).
-And since they did not consider God worth knowing, He let their depraved minds lead them to do things that ought not be done. They became filled with their godless reasoning, adultery, evil thoughts, greed, evil acts, envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, liars, haters of God, disrespectful, arrogant, boastful, inventing new forms of evil. They are disobedient to parents, without understanding, dishonest, heartless and ruthless (verses 28-31).
-All the while knowing full well the judgment of God; that those who do such things deserve to die. Even so, they continue to do them and applaud others who do them, as well (verse 32).
Here is yet another example of Paul’s clear reason, I believe directed by the Holy Spirit. When we go back to verse 18, “God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (back) the truth in their unrighteousness.” When men do not fear God (ungodliness), they fall into all sorts of wrong thoughts leading to wrong actions.
And, it should be noted here, that in describing this downward spiral, Paul clearly indicates homosexuality is one of the things found at the bottom of this spiral. Also, the widespread acceptance of homosexuality today is the result of Godless men suppressing the truth, as Paul states in this verse. The same can be said for other issues, such as, adultery, abortion and even so-called climate change and the emphasis on sustainable energy (yes, these are a spiritual issues, directly caused by wrong, Godless reasoning leading to wrong actions).
After he establishes the unrighteousness of man in chapter one, Paul goes on in chapter two and argues for God’s righteousness judgment. The main argument, I believe, is found in Romans 2:5-11.
“Your callous stubbornness and unrepentant attitudes only guarantee your day of His anger and indignation, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. The time will come when God will deal with every man according to what he has done: to those who by patient persistence in doing what is right seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but those who are self-willed, disobedient to the Truth and responsive to wickedness, there will be only indignation and anger. There will be trouble and anguish for every soul who does only evil continually, to the Jew and the Gentile. But there will be glory, honor and peace for every soul who continually does what is right, to the Jew and the Gentile. God shows no partiality, He makes no distinction as to race, gender or any other factor.”
Now, if we’re not careful, we could read this passage and think Paul is saying we could earn eternal life by doing what is good or right. This is why context is so important. He has just finished a rather long and detailed description of what happens when men refuse to fear God and follow their own wrong reasoning into a downward spiral of wickedness.
Taken together, Paul’s reasoning is this: our choices have inevitable consequences (the principle of reaping and sowing in Galatians 6:7-8), we can choose to follow God and have what He promises, or we can choose to ignore Him, go our own way and pay the price. Doing what is right of itself will not earn eternal life, but the point here is that those who follow God and trust Him will want to do what is right.