Romans 1

Romans 1:1

Following his conversion, Paul changed his name from Saul to Paul. “Saul” means “requested One"the man in demand. “Paul,” on the other hand, means “little.” Commentators are divided as to why Paul changed his name from “requested one” to “little.” Some say it was the result of his humility. As Saul, he was a proud Pharisee who looked down on other men. But when he was converted, he was broken. Others say Paul changed his name because of accessibility. About to travel throughout the Roman Empire, Paul jettisoned the Hebrew name of Saul to take on the Roman name of Paul. Humility or accessibilitywhich caused Paul to change his name? I suggest it was both. Paul was a great man who lived in humility, which, in turn, gave him accessibility. In this I am reminded of perhaps one of the most humble men of our generation: Billy Graham. Billy Graham is absolutely amazing. There he was at the inauguration of President Clinton, praying so simply and beautifully, “Lord, help us to carry out the challenges we’ve heard.” Now, if I had been asked to pray at the inauguration, I know I would have given a “sermonette” and caused a riot. But not Billy. On 20/20 a couple of weeks before the inauguration, Diane Sawyer said to him, “Tell me, Dr. Graham. What do you consider to be your greatest failure? Was it your association with Nixon? Your involvement with Russia?” Billy just looked at her and said, “Well, Diane, I consider my whole life pretty much a failure.” He wasn’t giving a clever response, for that is what he genuinely feels. Truly, Billy Graham lives in humility. And because of that he has great accessibility to kings, presidents, and leaders all over the world. The word “servant” is doulos, meaning “bondslave.” Exo_21:2 sheds light on what this means: In Israel, a slave was required to serve only six years before he was set free. If, however, at the end of six years, he said, “I like it here. I want to become a bondslave,” the master would drive a nail through his right earlobe and place an earring in it, signifying he was a doulos, a slave by choice. It’s a wise decision to give yourself fully to the Lord as His bondslave because He takes excellent care of those committed to Him. Their lives are filled with purpose and focus; their hearts with peace and joy. Perhaps you’re saying, “I’m my own mancaptain of my destiny, master of my fate. I don’t serve anyone.” But reality says otherwise. Everyone will serve someone. Bob Dylan was right when he sang, “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody.” And Paul chose to serve the Lord in totality. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament there are three groups of apostles: God appointed one ApostleJesus Christ (Heb_3:1). Jesus appointed twelve apostles who traveled with Him. In the Book of Acts, Barnabas, Titus, Andronicus, Junia, and a whole host of others are called apostles appointed by the Holy is Spirit. To this day, the Spirit continues to appoint apostlesmissionaries who are “sent out” with the message of the gospel. “What a great calling that is,” you say. But you know what? A call to be a carpenter, a science teacher, or a repairman is just as holy and just as important if you’re doing what God has opened up for you, and you’re doing it for Him. Whether you’re a baker, banker, mechanic, or cook, yours is an important calling because of the need for brothers and sisters to serve in all kinds of arenas and locations. Don’t think you’re missing God’s best if you’re not a missionary. If the Lord wants you selling insurance or pouring cement, be at peace about it and say, “Lord, if this is what You have for me, I’ll do it for Your glory. I’ll be salt and light as I labor here for You.” There’s a tendency within us to think everyone should have our calling. There’s a tendency to think that if I’m called to be a missionary, everyone should be a missionary; that if I’m called to be a teacher, everyone should be a teacher. Not true. That’s not the way it works in the body of Christ. The Lord calls each of us uniquely, individually, personally. How can you know what your calling is? It’s very simple. What’s flowing from your life presently? What comes easy to you? What’s working out supernaturally for you? Isaac dug a well in order to water his flock. But the inhabitants of the land challenged his right to be there. So he called that well “Esek,” or “Contention,” moved down the road, dug another well, and struck water once more. A second time, the inhabitants came and said, “This is our territory. Get out of here.” So Jacob named the well “Sitnah,” or “Hatred,” and went down the road a little farther. He dug a third well. This time, no one bothered himso he called the name of this well “Rehoboth,” or “there’s room for me” (Genesis 26). I have found life basically follows this pattern. You dig and strike some water. You find refreshment and good things happen. But strife or hatred follows. So you go down the road and dig a second time. Again there are problems. Eventually, however, if you don’t give up, you’ll find your Reheboth. Isaac had the job of watering sheep. He didn’t agonize over it. He didn’t complain about it. He just tended to what was at handand he ended up at Rehoboth. That’s the key. Do what’s before you. Say, “Lord, here I am. You’ve allowed me to do this, and I’m going to do it as unto You. And if there’s strife or hatred, I’ll just move down the road and dig again until I find Reheboth.” God has a Reheboth for every one of us. Paul’s was apostolic ministry. When was Paul “separated unto the gospel”? When he was ministering to the Lordworshiping, praising, and honoring Him in thanksgiving (Act_13:2). There’s a lot of talk about ministering for the Lord, and that’s good. But ministering to the Lord is even more important. And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.Eze_44:10, Eze_44:13-16 This is an extremely important passage that says standing before people, sharing with people, and ministering to people is punishment in comparison to coming before the Lord and ministering to Him. It was as Paul ministered to the Lord that he was called to minister to people. But even before the Spirit separated Paul unto the gospel in Act_13:2, the Son separated him in Acts 9. On his way to Damascus, he was knocked to the ground by a bright light and a voice that said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” But even before the Son separated Paul unto the gospel on the Damascus Road, the Father separated him at the very moment of his birth (Gal_1:1). Thus, all the while Paul was persecuting the church, the Father knew what he would be doing eventually. I say this to remind us as parents that our kids have destinies. Therefore, our job is not so much to mold them as it is to unfold them. We have our own expectations, feelings, and desires for our kids. But in reality, wise is the mother or father who says, “Lord, show me this day what You want my son or daughter to do or to be. And help me to flow with what You want.” The Greek word translated “gospel” is euaggelion, from which we get our word “evangelist.” In the Septuagint, this was the word used when the people of Israel were released from their Babylonian captivity. It meant, “You can go home. You’re free. Good news!” Truly, the gospel is Good Newsnot just good advice. A lot of preachers, authors, and speakers try to make Christianity a bunch of good advice. Most best-selling Christian books today are full of good advice about child-rearing, financial planning, or marriage counseling. But remove the name of Jesus Christ from most of them, and it won’t affect the book at all. We’ve got something so much better than good advice, folks. And I would encourage you to be on guard against sermons or authors, churches or organizations that give you good advice. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a sermon without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time listening to it. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a book without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time reading it. Paul wasn’t separated unto the good advice of Christian living. He was separated to the Good News of God.

Romans 1:2

Twenty-five years before Paul penned this Epistle, he became a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus when he said, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Act_9:6). And for twenty-five years he kept at it. Commitment was really a key to Paul’s success in ministry. He left everything to focus on one thing singularly: serving Jesus Christ passionately (Php_3:7). Some people today get excited about ministry or about walking with Jesusbut only in spurts. Why was Paul so dedicated, consecrated, and separated in his service? I suggest it was because he had an encounter not with a theological principle or a philosophical ideal, but with a risen Lord. If you’re only a student of theology or ecclesiology, you’ll miss the heart of ministry entirely. But if we really understand Jesus is risen and dwelling within usthat we can talk with Him, share our concerns with Him, and fellowship with Himour lives and ministry will be revolutionary. I talked to a lighting contractor one afternoon who said, “I’m scheduled to light a New Age bookstore. Although there’s some money in it, I don’t feel good about it. What should I do?” “Because you’re born again,” I said, “the Lord promised He would write His will not on tablets of stone, but upon the tender tablets of your heart (see Jer_31:33). Have you talked it over with Him? Does He want you to stay away from that bookstore because it is dark? Or, does He want you to go in and bring lightnot just physically, but spiritually?” “I don’t know,” he said. “Well, that’s for you to find out,” I continued. “You see, I could give you all kinds of reasons why you should avoid that pagan place. Or, I could give you reasons why you should go in, storm the gates of hell, and be light in that place. I don’t know what God wants you to do. Talk to Him.” Suddenly, his face lit up as he saw that it’s not a matter of principles or theology. It’s a matter of touching “the seed of David,” Jesus Christ personally.

Romans 1:4

“I’m separated unto the gospel,” Paul declared, “and that gospel concerns Jesus, born of the seed of David, declared to be the Son of God. He’s one of usand yet He is much greater than us. He became a Man, yet remains the Son of God.”

Romans 1:5

“We have received graceunmerited blessing. We have received apostleshipdirection for ministry,” declared Paul. This was not only theology for him. It was reality.

Romans 1:7

The words “to be” are in italics in the King James Version because they don’t appear in the original Greek text. Thus, this verse should read, “You are called saints.” Most people have the idea that saints are special people in religious history. But the truth is, there are only two categories of people: saints and pagans. Therefore, if you’re a believeryou’re a saint. A little boy attended a church that had beautiful stained-glass windows depicting St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John. One day, when asked in his Sunday-school class, “What are saints?” he answered, “They’re people who the light shines through.” Good answer! In Paul’s day, when Greeks greeted each other, they would say, “Charis,” which means “grace.” When Jews greeted each other, however, they would say, “Shalom,” which means “peace.” In the salutation of each of his epistles, Paul linked these two words together. He always put them in the same order because man will never experience peace until he understands grace. If you’re trying to be holier or more deserving of God’s blessings, your Christian life will not be full of peace. But if you understand gracethat God blesses and gives unconditionallyyou’ll stop trying to earn His blessings, and you’ll have peace. Peace from God has two components. First of all, peace from God implies peace with God, which is positional and unconditional because Jesus Christ took upon Himself all of our shortcomings and sins, problems, weakness, and rebelliousness (Rom_5:1). Most of us believe the Lord is disappointed in us because we haven’t spent time in the Word, because we don’t pray as we should, because we’re not doing very much for Him. But here, Paul the apostle says, “There is grace and peace for all because Jesus did it all!” Second, we have the peace of God, which is experiential and comes through prayer (Php_4:7). Perhaps this is what happened to you today: The kids didn’t behave. The job didn’t go well. Your husband didn’t come through, or your friends let you down. As you felt the burdens begin to come and the tension begin to build, you thought, I should pray. But no sooner did you think this than the Enemy was there, saying, “Pray? Now that you have a problem you want to pray? What about devotions, Mr. Prayer Person? You didn’t have devotions this morning, did you? And you think you can pray now?” You see, gang, we know we have problems, and we are all too aware of our failures. But we think the Father won’t hear us if we haven’t talked to Him for a day or three or ten. We think He won’t answer us if we haven’t been doing what we should do, or going where we should go. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. Look at our Lord, our Friend, Jesus Christ. After He had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane so intensely that He sweat blood, He looked up, and saw a group of soldiers coming toward Him, led by His disciple, Judas.

Jesus looked at Judas and said, “Friend, what seekest thou?” And His heart was revealed in that momentfor Jesus looked at Judas at the moment of betrayal and called Judas “Friend.” Judas was at the lowest ebb possible, yet Jesus still said, “Friend, what seekest thou?” (see Mat_26:50). This One with whom we walk is so incredibly gracious. He’ll respond to you and work with you anytime you call upon Him.

Romans 1:8

“I thank my God,” said Paul. “My Lord and my God,” said Thomas, upon seeing the Resurrected Lord (Joh_20:28). No wonder Martin Luther said, “Christianity is uniquely the religion of the possessive pronoun.” Paul didn’t say, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for eighty percent of you.” He didn’t say, “Most of you guys are great, but there’s a couple of exceptions.” No, under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul said, “I thank God for you all.” Although Paul had never met these believers, he had already heard about their faith.

Romans 1:9

How does one pray without ceasing? The Greek phrase “without ceasing” literally speaks of a tickle in the throat. In other words, to pray without ceasing means to go through the day praying as often and as reflexively as you would cough to suppress a tickle in your throat. As you drive down Main Street and see someone from church, praying without ceasing means you just shoot up a prayer for them. As you see your neighbors or co-workers, you say, “Father, You see what their need is. Be all You want to be for them.” Life becomes an adventure when you pray without ceasing.

Romans 1:10

By “making request if by any means I might come to you,” Paul was giving God a blank check. He was giving God permission to use any means He chose to get him to Rome. How different that is from the way I often pray. I say, “I’m the quarterback, Lord. You be my offensive Lineman. Run interference for me, and, together, we’ll make this happen.” Are your prayers director are they directive? That is, are you being honest and open before the Lord in humility, or are you telling Him what to do? The best way to pray is to say, “Lord, You know the needs I have. You’ve asked me to share them with You. This is my desire, my burden, my concern. Now, Lord, Your will be done by any means You see fit.” “But aren’t we supposed to name it and claim it?” you ask. Ask Hezekiah… “O Lord, let me live,” he prayed. “I know Isaiah said I was supposed to die, but, Lord, let me live. I name it and claim it.” In Hebrew, the account reads that he turned his face to the wall and chirped like a bird incessantly, demanding his own way until finally the Lord said, “Okay. Live” (see 2Ki_20:1-6). When messengers from Babylon came to congratulate him on his recovery, Hezekiah responded by taking them on a tour of the treasures of Israel. And it was this report that led Nebuchadnezzar to subsequently invade Israel. Meanwhile, Hezekiah fathered a son named Manasseh, who would become the worst king in Israel’s history. The Lord did indeed answer Hezekiah’s prayer by prolonging his life fifteen years. But those fifteen years were disastrous both to Hezekiah personally and to the kingdom nationally. How much better it would have been had Hezekiah simply shared his heart with the Father and said, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” That’s how Jesus prayed in the hour of His greatest need (Luk_22:42). Our faith is not to be in our own plans, but in the goodness and wisdom of our Father.

Romans 1:11

“In giving to you, I will benefit as well because our faith will grow mutually,” said Paul. That’s always the way it is in ministry. Give and you’ll get. Share and you’ll receive.

Romans 1:13

“I’m a debtor to everyone,” said Paul"to the Greek and to the barbarian, to the sophisticated and to the simple, to the businessman and to the biker, to the housewife and to the hippie, to the jock and to the jailbird.” Why did Paul feel this way? Because he was amazed at the goodness of God that saved him so radically at the very time he was erring so greatly.

Romans 1:16

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel for two reasons. The first is that the gospel revives men’s lives. Dead in sin, and without the Lord, men go through the motions of living. But in reality, without any real purpose, they wonder why they exist. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation. It is literally the dunamisfrom which we get our words “dynamic” and “dynamite"to totally turn people around and give them reason for being. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel A Topical Study of Rom_1:16 He had to be one of the gutsiest guys in all of history. This bow-legged, poor-sighted, little Jewish rabbi named Paul was ready to preach the gospel in Rome. Rome was the city wherein anti-Semitism had reared its ugly head, resulting in waves of brutal persecution. Rome was the home of Caesar Nero, the madman who was determined to exterminate Christianity. Nero, the one who dressed thousands of Christians in the skins of lambs and threw them to wolves and lions as he cried, “Where is your Good Shepherd now, little flock?” Nero was the one who dipped Christians in hot wax and lit them as candles in his garden while he shrieked, “How does it feel to be the light of the world now, Christians?” Rome was the entertainment capital of the world with a moral standard so low it would make Hollywood blush. Rome was the military mecca where generals and captains paraded pompously on the backs of black stallions. Rome was where the accepted greeting of the day was, “Caesar is lord.” For a Jewish Christian who claimed no other Lord than One who commanded no army, One who made His triumphal entry on the back of a donkey, One who was pinned to a Cross by Roman soldiers, to preach a message of repentance in Rome, would take guts indeed. Why could Paul not only declare that he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel, but that He was ready to preach it in Rome”? I suggest five reasons… The Gospel Is Prophetic Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)…Rom_1:1-2 The gospel is not something new and faddish, for it was promised from the very beginning. You see, way back in the Garden of Eden, the gospel was shared. In Gen_3:15, called the Proto Evangelicum, or “the first sharing of the Good News,” the Lord said to the serpent, “There shall be war between you, Satan, and the Seed of woman. You shall bruise His heel, but He shall crush your head.” That’s the gospel. The singular Seed of woman, virgin-born, is Jesus Christ. On the Cross, He was bruised badly; but on the Cross, He crushed Satan completely. Truly, the gospel is not new. Look at Genesis 5… In the first genealogy ever given, we see Adam, whose name means “man.” Adam had a son named Seth, whose name means “appointed.” Seth had a son named Enosh, whose name means “subject to death.” Enosh had a son named Cainan, whose name means “sorrowful.” Cainan had a son named Mahalalel, whose name means “from the presence of God.” Mahalalel had a son named Jared, whose name means “One comes down.” Jared had a son named Enoch, whose name means “dedicated.” Enoch had a son named Methuselah, whose name means “dying He shall send,” because the year he died was the year of the Flood. Methuselah had a son named Lamech, whose name means “to the poor being destroyed,” and Lamech had a son named Noah, whose name means “comfort.” Together, the names read: Man, appointed subject to death, sorrowful. From the presence of God, One comes down dedicated. Dying, He shall send to the poor being destroyed comfort. It’s the gospel. “We are not preaching something new,” said Paul. “From the very beginning of time, and down through the centuries, three hundred thirty-two specific prophecies were given concerning the One who would come as a Messiah for you and me.” The Gospel Is Provable And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.Rom_1:4 “Show us a sign,” they said. “One sign I’ll give to you,” Jesus answered. “Destroy this body and in three days I will rise again” (see Joh_2:18-19). Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh didn’t rise again when he died. Buddha couldn’t rise again. Neither could Confucius, Mohammed, or any of the gurus, philosophers, or religious teachers throughout history. Only Jesus rose again. And it’s provable. Go to Jerusalem. Check out the tomb. “Well,” you say, “I know you claim the tomb is empty, but how do we know the disciples went to the right tomb on that Easter Sunday morning? Maybe, with clouded minds and tear-filled eyes, unable to see or think straight, they went to the wrong tomb.” Do you really think so? Don’t you think those in authority would have checked it out and gone to the tomb themselves? “It must have been the disciples,” you argue. “They must have hidden Jesus’ body in order to continue His teachings.” Do you really believe that eleven disciples who were crucified upside down, had their brains beaten out with clubs, were speared in the back, were placed in boiling oil would not only experience persecution themselves, but would stand by while their wives and children were torturedall for a lie? If you believe that, you have much more faith than I could ever have. “Well, then,” you suggest, “it was the Jews. They took the body and hid it in order to harass the Christians.” Why would they do that? The Jews were trying to disprove Christianity. To do so, they would simply have had to produce Jesus’ body. “It was the Romans,” you conclude. “They took the body to tease the Christians.” Really? History shows that Christianity was a major contributor to the fall of the Roman Empire. The body of Jesus would have put an end to Christianity forever. If the Romans had it, surely, they would have made it known. Determined to disprove the Resurrection, a brilliant lawyer went to Jerusalem. He returned six years later, a radical born-again Christian, with the book entitled Who Moved The Stone? The book he wrote in defense of his newfound faith. It doesn’t take six years. Anyone who will spend even six hours checking out historical records and thinking through the Resurrection must, if he’s intellectually honest, conclude that there’s no logical alternative to the fact that something supernatural happened. The Gospel Is Personal By whom we have received grace and apostleship…Rom_1:5 (a) Not “by what” but, “by Whom we have received grace and apostleship.” “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him,” declared Paul, (see 2Ti_1:12). It was Jesus who did a work in Pauljust as it’s Jesus who is doing a work in you. The Gospel Is Powerful For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation…Rom_1:16 (a) The gospel doesn’t talk about the power of God, gang. It is the power of God. The gospel pricks the conscience, grabs the mind, warms the heart, and sanctifies the life. The gospel makes perverted men pure, drunken men sober, crooked men straight. The gospel is powerful because it is not good advice. It’s G ood News. What is the Good News? That Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1Co_15:3). Jesus is alive, folks. And He will come into your life and do His work through you. As you witness or share your faith, does the thought ever cross your mind, What if it doesn’t work for this person? What if his life isn’t changed? Listen, precious believer, Jesus proved Himself to you. That’s why you’re here today. And He will prove Himself to every single person who gives Him the opportunityno matter his addiction, no matter his background. The gospel alone declares we were saved from the penalty of sin (justification), that we are saved from the power of sin (sanctification); and that we will be saved from the presence of sin (glorification). That’s Good News because it’s based not upon a program, but upon a Personthe Resurrected Jesus living in my heart, telling me how to live, and giving me the power to do what He tells me to do. The Gospel Is Preachable …to every one that believeth…Rom_1:16 (b) To everyone who believes. My five-year-old can get it. The college professor can receive it. The man on his deathbed can embrace it. When I was teaching at the Ashland Christian Fellowship a number of years ago, between the Ashland service and the Applegate service, I had a break, so one Sunday, I stopped in at the Kingdom Hall outside Ashland. Although I sat in the back row and tried to be unobtrusive, I looked suspicious not only because of my long hair, but because I was neither wearing a suit and tie, nor carrying a briefcase and Watchtower magazine. After the service, an elder approached me and said, “You’re new here, aren’t you?” “Yes,” I said. “What do you think?” he continued. “Well,” I answered, “If I only have an hour to live, what must I do to make it into heaven?” At this point, he called over a few more elders, who began talking to me. But there was no hope given because, if I only had an hour to live, I couldn’t become one of the 144,000; I couldn’t be trained in Watchtower theology; I couldn’t make it to heaven. Then I shared the gospel with themand was asked to leave. I’m so thankful I’m a minister of the gospel. I’m so thankful I don’t have to tell a person to follow this procedure or that program before he can be saved. No, I get to say, “The Work is done! Just believe.” “Paul,” you might say, “the more I understand the simplicity and potency of the gospel, the more I can see why you aren’t ashamed. But you also said you’re ready to go to Rome. Why Rome, Paul? You’re a Christian Jew. You’re sure to have problems there.” Indeed he would, for although he was mobbed in Jerusalem and mocked in Athens, he was martyred in Rome. Why was he so eager to go there? The answer is found in verse Rom_1:14, where he writes: “I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.” The Syrians had laid siege to the region of Samaria. As a result, the Israelites were starving. The situation became so brutal that dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver, and a donkey’s head for eighty piecesa life’s savings. As Jehoram walked on the walls of the city one day, a woman said, “O, King, help us. Yesterday my son died, and my neighbor and I ate him. Today her son died, but she won’t let me eat him.” Grieved that the people had resorted to cannibalism, Jehoram ripped his clothes and said, “God do so and more unto me if the head of Elisha the prophet remains on him another day.” Calling for a messenger, Jehoram said, “Bring Elisha to me.” The messenger did as he was told. But Elisha’s message to the king was, “Tell that son of a murderer that tomorrow everyone will have more than enough to eat.” That night, something happened to the Syrians who were surrounding the city. As they cooked their dinner, they heard a strange, rumbling sound. “We’re being attacked,” they cried. And Scripture records that they stood up and ran as fast as they could to get out of the country, leaving their food, their gold, and their weapons behind. Unaware of these happenings, four lepers, who lived outside of the city, decided to pay a call on the Syrian camp, hoping for a few scraps of food. “If they kill us, so what?” they reasoned. “We’re starving to death anyway.” But as they arrived at the Syrian camp, they couldn’t believe what they saw. The camp was empty. The fires were still going, the food still simmering. They went from pot to pot, from tent to tent. They ate the food, put on the clothes of the soldiers, and climbed on the chariots. Then, in the middle of their celebration, one of them said, “We do not well. This is a day of good tidings, and we hold it to ourselves. Let’s go back to the city and share the good news” (see 2Ki_7:9). And when the people in the city heard there was food available, they stormed the gates and made their way to the camp to find the bounty, just as Elisha had prophesied. Gang, we are those lepers. Do we go from meeting to meeting, saying, “Whee! We’re saved! We’re forgiven! We’re going to heaven! Isn’t this great?” Like the lepers, we do not well this day if we keep the gospel to ourselves, if we go from service to service, from house to house celebrating, but do not share with a city that’s starving. Paul knew this. That is why he said, “I’m a debtor to every man. Because of what I’ve enjoyedthe grace, the mercy, the peace, the forgivenessI owe everyone. And if you’re saved, you have a debt as wellto share what you’ve discovered in Christ Jesus with a dying society, with a starving community, with a dying society. How long has it been since you threw your arm around a co-worker, or talked to a neighbor, and said, “You know what? I’m so blessed. The Lord’s really been good to me. I’d love to tell you about it”? Could this be the week, could tomorrow be the day in which you, like Paul, say, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel”? If you do, you’ll find great joy. The Lord doesn’t need us, gang. He could have communicated through angels. But He chose to use us because He knows there’s incredible joy to be had by former starving lepers who point the way to the Bread of Life.

Romans 1:17

The second reason Paul was not ashamed of the gospel is that it reveals God’s love. God’s love is seen in the fact that He doesn’t just wink at sin and say, “Boys will be boys.” After all, who would want to live in a community in which righteousness was not enforced, in which police officers simply said, “People will be people. So let’s just close our eyes to robberies and murders”? If that was the policy of the community in which you lived, you would move. God neither winks at sin nor wipes us out because of sin. Rather, He washes away our sin by the blood of His Son Here’s where many of us are vulnerable to error. We know salvation is from faith because we begin by simply embracing the Good News of the gospel but then we go from faith to works. We think we have to mobilize, organize, and agonize over our spirituality. “No, " says Paul. “It’s from faith to faith.” The just shall live by faith. Faith is not only the starting point of your salvationit’s the staying power of your Christian walk. “Even as you received Christ,” Paul would say to the Colossians, “so walk ye in Him” (see Col_2:6). “Oh foolish Galatians,” he would write, “are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?” (see Gal_3:1-3). The just shall live by faithfaith in the finished work of the Cross, faith in the resurrected presence of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:18

Here, Paul puts in the clutch and changes gears as he paints the canvas black in order that the gem of the Gospel might stand out against the dark backdrop of human depravity. God will not allow people to continue in sin any more than a physician would say to a person with cancer, “Well, I don’t want to carve into you or cause you any discomfort, so I won’t do anything about it.” No, just as a doctor knows there must be surgery, so, too, the wrath of God will deal surgically and powerfully with humanity whenever people fail to embrace Jesus Christ and refuse to allow His blood to remove the cancer of their iniquity. Ungodliness is sin against God. Unrighteousness is sin against man. When Moses came down from Sinai, he had two tablets in his hand. I suggest that one tablet contained the first four commandmentsall dealing with our relationship to Godand that the second tablet contained the remaining six commandmentsall dealing with our relationship to our fellow man. The word “hold” is very important. Referring to a helmsman steering a boat against the current, it means “to suppress.” In other words, the current wants to take the boat a certain way, but, determined to go the opposite way, the helmsman holds the rudder in such a way that he might go his way instead of the way of the current. So, too, the wrath of God is revealed against those who are determined to go their own way regardless of what they know is true. For, as we will see, Romans 1 makes it clear that creation around him testifies of the reality of God to every man, while chapter 2 clearly declares that conscience within him tells every man how he ought to live.

Romans 1:19

Creation all around testifies of God’s reality. The grandeur of heaven alone has spoken to every tongue, every culture, and every society throughout history (Psa_19:1-3). Concerning the acceptance of the “Big Bang Theory” by the scientific community, Robert Jastrow, an astrophysicist and director of NASA’s Goodard Institute for Space Studies, wrote: Now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the world. The essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are now the same. Consider the enormity of the problem. Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain given moment. It asks what cause produced this effect. Who or what put the matter and energy into the universe? And science cannot answer this question. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of his own reason, the story ends now like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance. He is about to conquer the highest peak. He pulls himself over the final rock, and he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been there for centuries. Walking with a group of admirals one evening who were discussing whether or not God existed, Napoleon is said to have pointed to the heavens and said, “Sirs, if you’re going to get rid of God, you must get rid of those.” Napoleon was right. The heavens declare the glory, the reality, the substance, the weight of God.

Romans 1:21

Every man knows there’s a God, but men choose to suppress the truth and deny God exists because they don’t want to give glory to Him as God. You see, if there is a God, then I am required to submit to Him. But my flesh doesn’t want to do that, so I’ll suppress the truth I see all around me. I’ll say God doesn’t existeven though the heavens and stars scream at me, “Yes He does!” We can fall into this same error as believers. Knowing God, we can fail to glorify Him as God. How? By insisting on our own way, by saying, “God, I believe in You, and now I’m telling You what I want You to do. You better solve this situation, take care of this problem, grant this request, or heal this sickness. I’m naming it. I’m claiming it.” He’s God. We’re not. He knows things we can’t know and sees things we can’t see. Therefore, for me to rub the lamp of faith and expect God to become my genie is, in a sense, blasphemous. Father knows best. Therefore, my part is to talk things over with Him, cast my cares upon Him, and have faith that He will do what’s righteven though I might not initially agree or understand. Although we know God, we fail to glorify Him as God whenever we stop being thankful for whatever He sends our way. Anyone who thinks he knows exactly what should happen in his life and precisely how it should take place is a fool.

Romans 1:23

What Paul is saying is borne out in anthropology: On every corner of the planet, throughout all of history, every culture has had an innate need to worship. But, suppressing the truth about God, they have substituted gods of their own choosing. The Egyptian said, “If I were God, I would be bright and powerful, causing the crops to grow and blasting people who were out of line.” So his god was Ra, the sun god. The Hindu said, “If I were God, I would be gentle and caring.” So his god is a cow. The American Indian said, “If I were God, I would soar over the mountains majestically.” So his god is an eagle. Suppression and substitution have been the pattern throughout the history of mankind. And lest you think our society is an exception, what about the Bears and the Seahawks, the Lions and the Falcons? We spray-paint our bodies; we put watermelons on our heads; we stand up and yell; we live and die for our teams. Such is our nature of worship. Look at the musicians, the fashion models, the TV shows, movies, and other creeping things our culture elevates, and you will have to conclude that we are as heathen as the pagans to whom Paul was writing.

Romans 1:24

Because the pagans worshiped animals, they became like animals. Truly, we become like that which we worship. That’s why we are to fix our eyes on Jesus. Jesus had such a robust quality about Him, such light emanating from Him that the common people heard Him gladly and the masses surrounded Him constantly. They left everything to follow Him wholeheartedly because there was substance and reality within Him. With open face, behold His gloryand you will be changed from glory to greater glory (2Co_3:18).

Romans 1:25

Herein is the devolution of man. He who suppresses the truth and denies there is a God begins to act like an animal and to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Does that ring a bell in light of what’s happening in our culture? A physician attempting to discover how to heal brains of people who have been traumatized was using anesthetized cats for his research. When the animal rights people heard of this, however, they shut the experiment down. The doctor is frustrated because, although his findings could have saved thousands of lives in a wartime situation, his work was brought to a premature end because our culture says there is no difference between a cat and a man.

Romans 1:26

The pit of perversity is evidenced by a culture accepting and glorying in homosexuality. The Problem of Perversity A Topical Study of Rom_1:26-27 Ten years ago, our country was caught up in a heated debate concerning homosexuals in the military. But I believe the controversy entails much more than a political, constitutional, or philosophical question. Rather, I believe the outcome revealed that we can only nominally call ourselves a culture built upon a Judeo-Christian foundation. I watched Nightline in wonder at the time as I saw Senator Bob Dole of Kansas ponder aloud whether homosexuality isn’t a generational value. The strongest conclusion he came to on this particular evening was that allowing homosexuals in the military would raise some problems with regard to privacy. As the interview came to a close, I thought, “Here’s a conservative senator, a traditionalist, a war hero who never once thought to bring up the issue of morality.” And that made me sad, for if even the traditionalists are not raising the issue of morality, what hope is there for our country? Are we still indeed a Judeo-Christian culture? What does the God of Old Testament Judaism and New Testament Christianity have to say concerning the issue of homosexuality? Plenty. In the Old Testament He makes it crystal clear that He is deadly serious concerning His ban on homosexuality (Lev_20:13). And here in the New Testament, He declares homosexuality to be the lowest point in the pathway to perversion. When a culture embraces homosexuality, that’s the end of the line biblically, for, as seen both in Old Testament law and New Testament theology, the Lord absolutely and unmistakably forbids homosexuality. Why? Like all sin, homosexuality is not bad because it’s forbidden. It’s forbidden because it’s bad. Most people have the mistaken idea that God arbitrarily set up certain standards and parameters and called anything outside of those boundaries sin. Not true. Sin is not bad because it’s forbiddenit’s forbidden because it’s bad. It’s forbidden because it will destroy us corporately and individually… Homosexuality Damages Psychologically Perhaps you followed the reports in which doctors declared that the person who is homosexual has a different chemical component flowing through his brain. While I’m not sure that’s not true, it has also been reported that there is a question as to whether such chemical changes are the reason for homosexuality, or whether they’re the result of homosexuality. I believe our text hints at the latter. In verse Rom_1:27, Paul writes, “they receive in themselves that recompense of their error” (verse Rom_1:27). It could very well be that “the recompense of their error” manifests itself in a chemical that affects the psychology of a person who practices this kind of perversity. Homosexuality damages people psychologically. It changes who they are and what they could be. Knowing this, God says, “Stay away from it.” Homosexuality Devastates Physiologically Sixty-five percent of certain Central African nations are now infected with the HIV virus. The death rate is incredible and appalling because of AIDS. But this is neither new in our day nor confined to our time. Recent research indicates that HIV could have indeed been the plague that wiped out civilizations of antiquity. For four hundred years, the Canaanites, whom the Bible calls Sodomites (1 Kings 14), controlled the Promised Land. God gave them four hundred years to change, but, because they wouldn’t, God ordered the Israelites to annihilate them (Jos_9:24).

If indeed, as many are now suggesting, the Canaanite culture was reaping the physical repercussions of sodomy, then the Lord was actually merciful in saying to Joshua, “They’re dying a slow, painful death. Destroy them, lest they continue on in misery.” Homosexuality Destroys Societally I wish in the debate, someone would quote not the Christian writer, but the historian, the scholar who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbons makes the case that in the years before Rome fell, fourteen of the last fifteen emperors were homosexual. Not only were they homosexual, but they appointed homosexual generals and commanders. According to Gibbons, this was a major reason the forces no longer had the will to fight. The army broke down; the Visigoths stormed in; the empire fell. Thus, history verifies that something happens not only physiologically and psychologically, but sociologically to any culture that persists in aberrant behavior. I’m sure many of you have thought through or read about the above three reasons for why God forbids homosexuality. But there’s a fourth reason, which I believe is the most important of all. Homosexuality Disfigures Theologically When God created him, Adam was not lacking. But he was lonely. So God put him to sleep, took a rib from his side, and fashioned a woman, a “completer” for him. Although Adam was no longer lonely, he had lost more than his rib in the process. He had lost a certain degree of sensitivity and an orientation toward communication. You can try to get man to be more sensitive and communicative, but good luck. You can take him to seminars or have him read books and cry. But you know what? He’s not all there, for there is a certain sensitivity and tenderness absent in man since the Garden of Eden when they were removed from him and given to the woman. But wait. That was the first Adam. Jesus came on the scene and showed us how it was supposed to be. The perfect blend of the strength of masculinity and the sensitivity of femininity was present in Jesus Christ, the Last Adam (1Co_15:45). A carpenter before the days of power tools and Ace Hardware, Jesus exuded such strength that when an angry mob threatened to throw Him over a cliff, it took only a look from Him to part the crowd (Luk_4:29-30). Yet He exuded such sensitivity that children loved to be around Him (Mat_19:13-15). He was masculinity personified as He strode through the temple with eyes flashing and biceps bulging, turning over tables, driving out the moneychangers, and the oxen, with no one daring to stop Him. Yet He was tenderness exemplified when, in the midst of His righteous anger, He stopped to make sure the doves would suffer no harm (Joh_2:16). He was the picture of strength as He pulled Peterthe one whom history calls “the Giant"out of the Sea of Galilee with a one-armed curl (Mat_14:31). Yet He was the picture of sensitivity in His desire to retreat with His disciples (Joh_18:2). He was the essence of masculinity as He rode an donkey into Jerusalem, yet a portrait of tenderness as He wept over Jerusalem. Jesus Christ is the Bullock of Leviticus 1 and the red Heifer of Numbers 19. Masculinity and femininity come together in Him perfectly. What does this have to do with homosexuality? Everything. Because of what homosexuality does to a person physiologically and psychologically, it diminishes the strength of the male and the sensitivity of the female. Through homosexuality, men become effeminate and women become masculine. Satan knows this and desires to destroy the image of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, by destroying role models of what the strength of masculinity and the sensitivity of femininity should be. Thus, we can’t see as clearly in our culture as we ought what it means to be a man of strength or a woman of tenderness. The roles are compromised. The image is blurred. Not only does this androgyny, this blurring of the roles, confuse people about the nature of the Person of Jesus Christ, but it also confuses people about His passion. What is His passion? His passion is His Bride, the church (Eph_5:25). You see, homosexuality says, “Love your own kinda reflection of who you are.” Thus, love between men does not properly depict Christ’s love for the church. And love between women does not reflect the church’s love for Christ. It skews it. It perverts it. It clouds it. Yet most churches today preach tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals and lesbians. Some even ordain them in ministry because most churches today have no passion for the Person of Jesus Christ. They’re in love with themselves. Satan is sneaky, folks. He uses homosexuality to blur our perception of the Person and Passion of Jesus Christ. That is why the Father says homosexuality must not be tolerated. How does homosexuality affect you and me? Consider the following three premises. Homosexuality Is Inevitable Speaking of the end times, Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luk_17:28-30). What was it like in the days of Lot? When the angels came to visit him, the homosexuals did something that, twenty years ago, I couldn’t understand: They marched in the streets (Gen_19:4). How could this be? I thought. But that was before Gay Pride Parades. Jesus said an acceptance and a celebration of homosexuality would be a sign of the very end of this age before His coming. Does the fact that homosexuality is inevitable mean we are to be passive about it? No. When Asa, a man who was righteous in the sight of the Lord, brought about revival in the land, one of the first things he did was destroy the Sodomites (1 King 15). Now, in our New Testament day, we are not called to annihilate homosexuals. But we are called to annihilate in our hearts the thinking that homosexuality is acceptable. You see, as New Testament believers, our fight is never against people, but against principalities and powers (Eph_6:12). Thus, we should be waging war in the Spirit through prayer against this perversion that has blinded so much of our country and our leaders. Like Asa, we must refuse to let the sodomite spirit go unchallenged. And our battle must be waged in prayer. Homosexuality Is Inexcusable “But I was made that way,” is the argument of those who practice homosexuality. Wait a minute. Every man, every woman has some tendency of sin that must not be accepted. You might be heterosexual and have a desire to attack people. Does that mean we should say, “Well, that’s just the way you are. That’s your thing and you have to be who you were made to be”? What about the thief or the pornographer? All people are depraved. And because of that, a loving Father set boundaries to regulate behavior. Like any sin, homosexuality is inexcusablebut it’s also changeable. How do I know? Corinth, was the homosexual capital of the Roman Empire, and Paul said to the church there, “such were some of you” (see 1Co_6:9-11). They had been sanctified, justified, and changed by the reality of Jesus Christ. Homosexuality Is Indicative God says the sin of Sodom started with pride, fullness of bread, idleness of time, and a lack of concern for the poor (Ezekiel 17). Pride, too much to eat, too much leisure time, too little compassion for other people ultimately led to experimentation sexually. In Sodom there was too much time for MTV and HBO, too much time to go to movies and cruise the Internet. And because of their prosperity, the people fell into perversity. Paul echoes the same thought here in Romans when he says perversion begins when people who know God don’t glorify Him as God nor give thanks to Him for being God. I was on an airplane one day. Walking down the aisle during the time lunch was being served, I didn’t see one person giving thanks for the food. Granted, it’s hard to say thanks for airline food, yet Paul says perversion begins when people who know God don’t take time to give thanks to Him, worship Him, or glorify Him because they’re too busy with their concerns, their hobbies, their worldly pursuits. Homosexuality is not generational or unique to us culturally. Rather, it’s indicative of where we are spiritually. I say this to you not only that we might have insight, but that we might be warned. Don’t stop thanking the Lord, precious people. Don’t stop giving Him glory. Continue acknowledging Him as the King of your life and the absolute Authority of your home. If you do, you’ll do welland so will your kids and family.

Romans 1:28

After denying God, making their own idols, behaving like animals, and worshiping nature, finally a society is given over to homosexual activity, which is unmistakably the breeding ground for the sins enumerated in this passage. “Oh, I would never murder anyone. I would never invent an evil thing,” we say. But do we enjoy watching the inventions of evil things and murder in movies? “I would never commit adultery,” we say, “but I love to watch the soaps.” We’re guilty! You see, gang, if you are one who enjoys watching murder after murder after decapitation after adulterous affair because you’ve allowed your carnal appetite to be developed, you are guilty. And death will come to you. I don’t mean necessarily you’re going to die physicallybut watch what will happen to your marriage. Watch how it will cease to be vital and warm. Watch how your kids will grow up and you’ll wonder why there’s darkness on their faces and posters of despair in their rooms. “Be ye holy,” the Lord says to us (Lev_20:7)for our choice to live either in holiness or carnality will greatly affect not only us, but also those around us.