good news = gospel

Romans 3:21-26

Observation:

The key words are: righteousness, law, faith, justifies. They are repeated through out these verses. The contrast is the righteousness that comes from the law vs. the righteousness that comes from God.

There is a small word picture that most readers would have picked up on comparing the death of Jesus to the atonement sacrifice in the OT.

Interpret:

The phrase that connects this to the rest of the chapter and the book is "But now..." indicating that there is a change in the present that alters everything. Up to this point, Paul points out that all of us are guilty, whether we have the law or not. All of our religious ceremonies and arrogance will not save us from God's wrath. But now...

Up to this point, Paul has proven that we are not declared righteous by observing the law adn therefore the just do not live by the law. In this passage, he proves how we can be declared righteous through the death of Jesus Christ - adding to his thesis that the just will live by faith (or, we are declared just/righteous by faith).

The main argument of this passage is that righteousness comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. None of us could attain righteousness on our own because we all (whether Jew or Gentil - there is no difference when it comes to righteousness) fall short but we all (whether Jew or Gentile) can be declared righteous by God's grace through the sacrifice of Jesus. In Jesus, we see the justice and the grace of God.

Apply:

God's exceptional and indescribable mercy is seen clearly in this passage: because I could not attain his standard of righteousness, I deserve punishment but he gives me righteousness through Jesus. Wow! I also see God's justice - he could not let sin go unpunished but in his grace allowed Jesus to take the punishment for me. Wow (again)! My response should be complete surrender to God and a complete humbling before him. He saved me - it wasn't my merit or effort or attractiveness (and I know I'm pretty attractive...). It was his character that moved him to act on my behalf. My salvation depends on God, not on me.

the verdict: all are guilty!

Romans 3:9-20

Observation:
The words "no one" and the idea of "righteous" are repeated. Paul uses a list of verses from the OT that speak of the depravity and brokeness of all of humanity. The theme is that no one is righteous, not even one. "Law" is also a key word that is repeated a few times.

Interpretation:
The main argument of the passage is that there is no one who is righteous - it doesn't matter wether you are a Jew and have access to the Scriptures or a Gentile and don't. All of humanity prefers sin to the fear and glory of God and rushes to sin rather than to obey God. The law does not make people righteous - the law acts as a mirror, making us aware of our unrighteousness and sinfulness. The law is the instrument that God will use to measure our lives and everyone will be found lacking.

Application:
Any righteousness that I have "gained" is not from my own efforts because I could never be good enough to earn it. Any righteousness I have achieved by my own efforts is self-righteousness and is empty and futile. I am fallen. This means that rather than running to do what is good, my feet are swift to shed blood and my tongue practices deceit. Any decently close examination of my life will show this to be true. This is not just what I do but my character has been twisted so this is what I prefer and any time I do something good, it is a miracle because it is God breaking through my falleness and depravity. The miracle is not just that I don't perform the bad act but that God is starting to change my preferences and fix my depravity.
If it takes God's intervention to change me, then I need to stop expecting that other people will change apart from the intervention of God. Rather than beating them up (emotionally. I usually avoid throwing punches!), I need to introduce them to Jesus, offer them grace and pray that God would intervene in my life as he has in theirs. I also need to seek the intervention of God in my own life more. Jesus said in John 15 that apart from him I can do nothing of eternal value, I can bear no fruit. My goal is to bear fruit and the way that I do that is not to try to produce fruit on my own but to seek the divine intervention, the life-giving source that flows through me as I abide in Christ.

the advantage of circumcision

Romans 3:1-7

Observe:
Now it seems like Paul is shifting to address the Gentiles (he speaks of the Jews in the third person instead of in the second person as he has done in the previous section).
Paul is contrasting God's character to human character and basically saying that God's character is seen more clearly when contrasted to human character but that doesn't get us off the hook from facing God's judgement.
Paul starts a list in v. 2 of all the advantages that a Jew has over a Gentile. However, he only gets to number one and then he interrupts himself (a classic Paul tactic). According to my study Bible, he doesn't pick up the list again until chapter 9.

Interpret:
First, Paul is saying that Jews have an advantage over Gentiles because they have been entrusted with the word of God. This advantage also carries responsibility with it - to live according to the revelation they have been given through the words of God.
Paul then goes on a bit of a side track by saying that even if some Jews do not believe the word of God, it does not change the fact that God is faithful. We tend to think of God being faithful to us but Paul says that he is faithful to his own character - his judgement of sin exhibits his faithfulness to himself (in other words, he will never act outside of his character).
Paul goes on to destroy an argument that people were making: God cannot be just when he judges us because his character is seen most clearly in contrast to ours (i.e. his faithfulness in contrast to our unfaithfulness). This is similar to an argument that people make today that God cannot be just in judging those who don't have access to the gospel of Christ. God is just and he will judge in righteousness (Paul argues this in the previous chapters).

Apply:
As a Christian living in a free country, born to Christian parents and having access to many different versions of the Bible in my first language, I have been entrusted with a huge responsibility before God to live up to and take care of his words. I have been given many of the same advantages that the Jews had in Paul's day. This means that I must read, study, treat with respect, teach and live out the words of Christ as they have been given to me and as they are taught to me by the Holy Spirit.
Thankfully I don't hear too much of the argument that Paul was fighting against (let's do bad so God's goodness can be clearly seen). I have heard a variation of it once from a friend of mine who was a terrible driver (passed on the shoulder, 1.5x the speed limit, etc.) who saide he couldn't wait to get pulled over so that he could show the police officer respect and humility and be an example of Christ to the officer. I think God would rather have my friend be an example of Christ in the way that he drove. This passage reminds me that I am to display God's faithfulness, justice, truthfulness, etc. not by contrasting it against my own unfaithfulness, etc. but by allowing the Spirit of God to produce the character of Christ in me. I should represent, not be an anti-example of, God's character.

conversation on circumcision

Romans 2:25-29

Observe:
The key words of this passage are circumcision and the law. Paul repeats these words, comparing and contrasting them several times. He contrasts circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the heart, creating a fairly vivid word picture... ouch!!
Paul is obviously addressing Jewish Christians again in this section of his letter.

Interpret:
The main argument Paul makes here is that circumcision of the flesh does not automatically make a person a law-abider. In fact, if someone lives according to God's standard but is not circumcised, God regards them as being circumcised - I believe this is talking about a Gentile who did not have access to God's revelation in the Law and Prophets. Paul is arguing that there is more important things in God's view than the outward markings of belonging to him; specifically he is saying that the true sign of belonging to God is the new life (circumcised heart) brought by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Apply:
First, I see God's justice clearly again. Even though he chose the nation of Israel to be his special, chosen people, he creates a level playing field: righteousness does not come from having the law or meeting the ceremonial requirements such as circumcision. Righteousness comes from God and a person who never has read the Law but is trying to live according to the revelation God has given to her can be regarded just as righteous as the person who has access to the Law (Paul is going to argue in chapter 3 that no one is righteous in God's sight, whether they have the law or not).
Secondly, I am convicted about the outward signs that I place value on: going to church, living a "moral" life (at least outwardly), etc. In effect, I have become just as religious as the Jews - relying on the culture of Christianity rather than on the inward cutting away of sin and selfishness as I surrender the Holy Spirit, submitting to his work in my life.
Finally, I am convicted (again) about the pious, superiour spirituality that I try to impose on people around me. It is more about behaving a certain way than it is about a vital, real relationship with God that transforms me and regenerates me from the heart. Can you imagine what such a person would look like - rather than worrying about conforming to the restrictions of cultural Christianity they were consumed by love for Christ and a desire to please God (conforming to the "restrictions" of God).

God is blasphemed because of me?

Romans 2:17-24

I know I should be doing observe, interpret, apply but this passage hits me right in the gut! I think it should do the same for all Christians, especially those in North America. We have become arrogant in regard to our relationship to God and the revelation of himself that he has given to us just as the Jews that Paul was writing to had become arrogant. They relied on the fact that God had given them the law and saw themselves as superior because of that. We rely on the fact that we have a "proper" interpretation of Scripture and we have become arrogant - as if we somehow merited God's special attention. We are smug in our relationship with God and believe that we are the moral compass of the nation and the world but we are unwilling to listen to our own teaching and unwilling (and, quite frankly, unable) to live up to the standard that we impose on the rest of society. We stand up on our self-built pedestal and look down our long, pious noses and condemn people for the very acts we are committing (and congratulate and applaud ourselves for doing it).
We preach against stealing and yet we still steal - this one really hurts because I was the one that did the sermon on stealing a year or two ago and yet I still find myself stealing in creative ways. We condemn those who commit adultery and sit in front of our computers and unite our selves in mind and spirit with virtual, photo shopped, airbrushed images. We puff out our chests because we don't worship false gods and then prostrate ourselves before money, possessions and sports heroes. We brag about being Christians (literally "little Christs") and then act nothing like Christ.
Here is the damning indictment against us: "God's name is blasphemed among the people because of you." I am the reason that people don't trust God. I am the reason that people don't repent.
O God, I am so sorry for the way that I have treated your name and the way that I have represented you to the people. I am so sorry for the way that we, who take your name on ourselves, have dragged it through the mud and brought dishonour to you.

creating a law for themselves...

Romans 2:12-16

Observe:
The law is a key word in this passage, repeated 10 times. The idea of righteousness and judgement continue to be key. Paul is contrasting the judgement that those who don't have the law (the Gentiles) will receive to what those who do have the law (the Jews) will receive. Paul concludes that the law is not just what is written in the Bible but is the conscience and morality of humans.
A phrase that stands out is "my gospel" (v. 16). Paul identifies so closely to the good news of Jesus Christ that he makes it his own.

Interpret:
Paul is continuing his thought from v. 11 - God does not show favouritism. The proof is that he doesn't use the law to judge people who never had the law. That would mean that the Jews were his favourites since they were the ones that he revealed the law to.
The main argument of this passage picks up on what Paul said in 1:20 - humans are without excuse before God, even if they never had the law, because they can see the attributes of God in creation (chapter 1) and they have a conscience (chapter 2). Paul argues that because we have all done things that have gone against our conscience, we all stand guilty before God. For the Jews, the Law is the standard of holiness but for the Gentiles, the law of God is written in our conscience and our hearts. Even without knowledge of the law, there is knowledge of right and wrong.
This fits into this chapter specifically because it is all about the justice of God: God's judgement is based on the truth (v.2), on our deeds (v 6-11) and on the knowledge of God and his standard we have (v. 12-15).

Apply
This speaks to God's justice. He will do what is right and just in every circumstance. It also speaks of God's patience because, while he is revealing his wrath against wickedness in the present, he is waiting to pour out the full extent of his wrath until the day of judgement. The only reason he is delaying his judgement is to give more of us time to repent. This is incredibly kind and patient of God.
I need the Holy Spirit to make my conscience soft again. I've justified my sinfulness for so long that I've effectively shut off my conscience and silenced the voice of the Spirit in certain areas of my life. Since my conscience is one of the ways that God communicates to me, then I am desperate to open up that channel of communication again.

wrath!

Romans 2:5-11

Observe:
God's judgement is righteous. This is in contrast to the hypocritical judgement of humans in the previous section. God's judgement is based on truth (v. 2) and on what each person has done (v. 6). If we do good by seeking glory, honour, and immortality, we receive eternal life. If we are self-seeking, reject truth and follow evil, we will face God's wrath and anger.
What's the difference between wrath and anger?

Interpret:
This passage continues Paul's thought in chapter 1. In chapter 1 God's wrath is being revealed in the present (by abandoning evil doers to their sin) while in chapter 2, Paul makes it clear that there is a day of wrath to come in the future where God will reveal his righteous judgement.
We are storing up wrath for ourselves by judging others, not based on righteousness or truth but based on pettiness and selfishness. We are hypocritical in our judgement of others and because we won't repent of the sin in our own lives, we are facing judgement.
Paul places the Jew first when it comes to judgement and reward because that is the chronological order of God's revelation. God revealed himself to the Jew first through the Laws adn the Prophets and then to the Gentile through the apostles bringing the gospel. I think Paul also places them first because they bear a greater responsibility (at that time) for the revelation they have received.

Apply:
I think that in many ways I have taken the place of the Jews when it comes to responsibility. Because of the advantages God has given me (a Christian family, a Christian community, a free country where Christ is taught without fear), I feel like I have a larger responsibility to respond to Christ in a proper way. Jesus taught that to whom much is given, much will be required. I know that I have been given much and I feel a huge burden to give from that abundance (not just financially but teaching, going, equiping, worshiping, surrendering, etc.). To put in words that Paul uses in chapter 1, I feel the weight of the call of God on my life.
I really like Paul's choice of words in v. 7. I want to be known as someone who seeks glory (for God), honour and immortality! It sounds like the knights in the King Arthur legends.

judge, jury and executioner

Romans 2:1-4

Observe:
The word that gets repeated here a lot is "judge" or "judgement". Paul contrasts the hypocritical judgement of humans against the righteous judgement of God (v. 2). He also makes some comparison between the quickness of humans to judge and the patience and kindness of God which leads to repentance.
Paul uses the phrase "without excuse" again (1:20 and 2:1) in conjunction with the judgement of God. It seems like this passage is addressed to people who have some knowledge of the law - possibly Jews or Jewish Christians - whereas chapter 1 was addressed to the barbarians who had no knowledge of the law. .

Interpret.
Both groups are without excuse - the barbarians because they can see the attributes of God in creation and the Jews because they know the requirements of the law, the consequences of breaking the law but continue to sin anyway (1:32) while passing judgement on everyone else. This was very typical of the Pharisees and Paul's words echo the words of Jesus.
Paul (echoing Jesus again) is not saying that we should not judge other people's actions but that we should not do so from a hypocritical place. Our judgement must be based on truth, like God's is. In fact, in other passages, Paul tells us to judge others.
Paul is saying that those who are quick to judge are impatient with God. God's slowness is not because he is hesitant or weak but because he is kind and patient and wants to give people every chance to repent before he judges them.

Application:
I am too quick to be judge, jury and executioner. I am too quick to pass judgement and condemnation. I need the Spirit to change my attitude to make me more merciful and patient - content to let God judge. I still have the responsibility to point out sin but my goal should not be making people feel shame but to bring them to repentance and back on the right path.
I am a hypocritical judge - often condemning people for the very same things that I do. I think that this is a function of my guilty conscience: if I can point it out in others, I don't have to attend to it in my own life.
This passage shows me that God's judgement will be based on truth. It won't be based on whether or not he got enough sleep that day, whether someone cut him off in traffic or anything like that. God is just and his judgement will be just.
God is also patient which is a very good thing. Sometimes when I look around at all the injustice and sinfulness in the world, I get impatient with God. So many people are suffering and God could step in at any time. The truth is that I want him to step in quickly to cut off others but I want him to be patient with me. I can't have it both ways.
I am glad that God is rich in kindness and I am sorry for showing contempt for that.

A Standing Ovation for Sin

Romans 1:24-32

Observe:
The connects back to the wrath of God being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness. There is a connecting word (therefore) that indicates that what happens next is the result of humans wisdom for foolishness and God's glory for the lesser glory of created things. The main punishment seems to be that God has given humans over to sexual impurity and perversion.
Paul uses the language of exchange or trading again - this time humans traded the truth of God for a lie and the worship of God for the worship and service of created things. The phrase "served created things" struck me - we don't just elevate their importance but we become enslaved to them when we do so.
God also abandoned humans to a sinful way of thinking (a depraved mind). Basically, because we preferred the lesser glory of created things to the greater glory of God, He surrendered us completely to that kind of thinking so that we can't help but prefer those things (apart from his intervention - Paul gets to that later) and suffer all the consequences of that preference.

Interpret:
The main argument of the passage is that because of humanity's choice (specifically Gentiles) to exchange the glory and wisdom of God as seen in creation for the lesser glory of created things (Paul actually says we traded God's glory for the glory of reptiles - good job humans!), God has "honoured" that choice and abandoned us to the consequences of that decision.
Paul's main point in Romans is that the just will live by faith. We are made righteous as a gift from God. He is proving here that we couldn't achieve this righteousness on our own because we have become such victims of our own choices that we have become totally depraved - we can't help but prefer the lesser glory of created things to the glory of God.
Paul is also saying that the pleasures of sin have actually become our punishment. This might not make sense at first glance (God punishes me by giving me over to sexual impurity? Wahoo!) but you don't have to look very far to see the emptiness and destruction that sexual impurity and perversion brings to people, families and society.

Apply:
First, I think that this passage actually settles the debate on homosexuality. It may have been a choice at one point but Paul makes it clear that God has given people over to it. I don't think most people would choose homosexuality - it almost always means secrecy, hardship and loss of relationship.
Second, I can find myself on the list of characteristics of someone who has a depraved mind: greed, envy, deceit, gossip, boastful, disobedient, etc. The words that jump out to me specifically are "they invent ways of doing evil." This is a huge inditement on our society and on me. We are not just content to do evil, we find ways of doing it differently, more and "better".
Third, the people that Paul is talking about know better and know that they deserve punishment but continue in sin anyway. He could be talking about me. How many times have I done something I knew was wrong or not done something I knew was right, regardless of the consequences? Too many to count.
Finally, the ultimate sin according to Paul is applauding the sinfulness of others. This stands as a huge condemnation on our society, on our churches and on myself. We hold up as heroes those who break speed limits - the faster the better! We honour those who find inventive ways of cheating the system or on the test. We listen with rapt attention to those stories about sexual conquest and applaud the conqueror. We applaud, rather than regret, sin.
Lord, have mercy...

Futile Minds and Foolish Hearts

Romans 1:18-23

Observe:
God's wrath is being revealed in the present. He doesn't just wait for the "end times" to pour out his righteous judgement against sin and wickedness. The judgement is actually quite similar: at the end of days he will abandon people to the choice they made to live without him, honouring and enforcing that choice for all eternity; in the present he also abandons people to the choices they make to live without him - abandoning the wicked to their sins (v. 24).
I notice also that Paul uses the language of exchanging and concious choices: humans knew the truth but supressed it with wickedness (v. 18-19), the knew God but exchanged his glory for created things.
There is also a contrast between the eternal power and divine nature of God (v. 20) and the futile thinking and foolish hearts of humans (v.21). The issue is that in their folly, humans think that they are wise.

Interpret:
We sometimes think that people are victims of their circumstances, even blaming God for their not being in a position to know and respond to God. Paul disagrees with this view: he says that everyone has the opportunity to know God through his creation (his qualities are clearly seen) and that people have chosen to take the knowledge and truth of God and suppress it with their own choices.
This decision to suppress truth with wickedness and exchange the glory of God for the glory of the created thing is as old as humanity. Adam and Eve made the same choice (in fact, Paul could be talking about Adam and Eve. They knew God but suppressed the truth of God with their choice to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. They exchanged the glory of God for their own glorification - "you will become like gods...").
I believe that Paul is actually talking about Gentiles - people who, at that time, do not have God's truth as revealed in Scripture. His thesis is that righteousness comes from God and is received by faith. He is showing the depravity of those who never had access to the Word of God and proving that they are just as guilty because they could see the nature of God through creation and their conscience.

Interpret:
God is holy and is just. He cannot stand sin and while he appears to be patient in that he is not actively judging the world right now, he is also active in that he is revealing his wrath against the sin and wickedness of humanity. Admittedly it seems strange that he would judge the sinfulness of people by abandoning them to their sin (sort of like trying to get someone to stop smoking by giving them more cigarettes) but maybe God's judgement and patience are intertwined. Maybe he is trying to get people to see the emptiness of their choices - they are being punished because their sin is not ultimately satisfying to them but that dissatisfaction actually draws them to God at the same time.
Personally this serves as a warning - I can't take my knowledge of God for granted. It's possible for me to know God and still exchange the glory of God for lesser things. In fact, because of my sinfulness and brokeness, I prefer the lesser things to the great glory of God. Paul tells me that my depravity can only be overcome by the righteousness that comes from God and I can only receive that righteousness through faith. "The righteous will live by faith."

Romans: wise or foolish?

Romans 1:14-17

Paul makes an interesting statement: I am obligated to the Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise the foolish - that is why I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome... Did Paul just call them foolish? The Greeks were the Greek thinking Gentiles - the Gentiles of the civilized world - and the non-Greeks were the barbarians. The question: Is Paul saying that the barbarians are foolish? Or is it a cross comparison (he seems to use that sometimes), making the Greeks foolish? Did he just insult the Romans - I have an obligation to the foolish so that's why I want to come to you?
Whatever Paul is saying about the Romans' wisdom, he is making it clear that the gospel transcends all borders, all cultural divides, all societal boundaries. Paul, as an apostle called to the gospel by God through Christ, has an obligation to share the good news with anyone and everyond. So do I.
The gospel reveals the power of God to save us from God's own wrath and judgement. Paul says it is first for the Jew - meaning that the message of salvation came to the Jew first and then was shared with the Gentiles.
Here is Paul's thesis statement - the thing he will argue for and prove in the rest of the book: "The righteous will live by faith." He is going to talk about faith first and living second. The point is that this is a radical message: righteousness does not come from observing the law, it does not come from learning or wisdom. This righteousness comes from God and the only way to receive it is by faith. This is the main point of the entire book.
Righteousness is being declared right before God. It differs from being justified in that justification is a legal term (being declared not guilty) while righteousness is more of a relational term (restored/right relationship with God). I can't make my relationship with God right by doing good things - there's no way I can "make it up to God" (Paul's going to prove this in chapter 3). I receive righteousness through faith alone. Amazing!! I can hardly wrap my mind around it. That message is truly nothing to be ashamed of!

Harvest

Romans 1:8-13

Observe:
Paul starts out in a pretty typical manner: speaking a blessing of grace to them (v. 7), then praising the Christians in Rome - specifically because their faith has been reported all over the world - and finally assuring them of his constant prayer - specifically that Paul would be able to visit them. Paul must have had a very active prayer life as evidenced by all the prayers that he offers on behalf of all the people he writes letters to.
It seems like the Roman Christians may have been wondering if Paul was neglecting them but Paul assures them that is not the case - he prays for them constantly (as God is his witness) and he has tried many times to visit but was prevented by God (through circumstances) from doing so. Finally, Paul seems very confident that when he visits Rome, God will cause many people to come to faith through Paul's work.
I notice that Paul is very careful to connect God and Christ right from the beginning of the chapter (v. 1, 7, 8, 9). Sometimes the connection is almost awkward (like in v 8 and 9). I wonder why he does this?

Interpret:
This is a pretty typical opening for Paul's letters. The main argument or message of this section is that Paul is encouraged by the faith of the Romans - their faith has been reported all over the world which may indicate that the Roman Christians were facing persecution but standing strong in the face of it - and he longs to come and visit them.

Apply:
I need to be better at praying for the people God has placed in my life and ministry. I need to be better at encouraging them and challenging them in specific areas. I am inspired by Paul's deep, personal and specific concern for the people he knew. He always has a different prayer and a specific word of encouragement for each church.