INTRODUCTION: We rightly refer to father Abraham. He is the central model for us from the pages of the Old Testament, living out the implications of radical faith, faith at the root. As we walk in imitation of him, we are his children indeed. As we walk in imitation of him, we have the family …
Blessed Is the Man/Romans 14
INTRODUCTION: The word imputation may seem like one of those technical-sounding theological words to make your head hurt, but it is really quite straightforward—and full of blessing. THE TEXT: “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof …
The Just God Who Justifies/Romans 13
INTRODUCTION: If God failed to fulfill His promise to Abraham, then He would be unjust. If God fulfilled His promise by simply declaring that everyone was now justified, then He would be unjust under that circumstance as well. If He doesn’t save the nations, then He is unjust. If He saves the nations, then He …
That Every Mouth May be Stopped/Romans 12
INTRODUCTION: One difficulty that presents itself while working through a book like Romans in small segments is that it is very hard to find a place to stop . . . becauses Paul frequently doesn’t stop. This week we need to run a little ahead and stop in mid-thought, and next week we will back …
Righteous Vengeance/Romans 11
INTRODUCTION: Paul is walking the world through the meaning of honest confession before God. The unbelieving Gentiles don’t want to honor God as God, or give Him thanks, and so Paul set the grandeur of God right in front of them, as displayed in every created thing. The Jews don’t want God, and so Paul …
Let God Be True/Romans X
INTRODUCTION: We learned from the end of chapter two that not all Jews are Jews, along with the corollary that not all Christians are Christians. But keeping up with the apostle can be a strenuous effort sometimes, and we now learn in the first part of chapter three that the Jews who are not really …
The Absolute Necessity of the New Birth/Romans 9
INTRODUCTION: We left off with St. Paul’s observation that the Gentiles blasphemed God’s name because of the behavior of God’s people. In this passage, he goes on to show the root cause of the discrepancy between the holy name by which God’s people were called, and unholy lives which disgraced that calling. The root cause …
The Genesis of Hypocrisy/Romans 8
INTRODUCTION: We have already seen in the first chapter that the unbelieving Gentile world is without excuse in their rebellion against God. We have also seen (in this second chapter of Romans) that believing Gentiles are not in the same position. And here in this passage, we come to the point of emphasis, which is …
Glory, Honor, Immortality/Romans 8
INTRODUCTION: Paul has already stated his great theme—that the just shall live by faith. This is the great epistle of justification by faith, apart from works of the law. At the same time, it is quite striking that there is no more of a contradiction between Paul and James than there is between Paul in …
The Spirit of Accusation/Romans 6
INTRODUCTION: God’s wrath is taught very clearly in Scripture. Our great problem with it is that we confound it with the spirit of accusation that belongs to the devil, and we show that we do not understand how righteousness, the real thing, interacts with sin. We think we know, but we tend to know only …