skip to content

Romans 1

W
The Whosoever Study Bible
Whosoever will, may come.
the epistle of paul the apostle to the romans
Paul · c. 57 AD
Chapter the First
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,) 
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 
That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 
HOW TO USE
PROVISIONIST · DISPENSATIONAL · PRE-TRIBULATIONAL
Chuck Smith · C2000 · 1979 to 1985
Romans 1-2
Tape C2245 · 1:22:55
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · C3000 · 1985 to 1999
Romans 1
Tape C3618 · 1:18:17
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · Sunday Morning Studies, New Testament
Trying to Change God, Romans 1:21-25
46:14
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · Sunday Morning Sermons
The Power of God to Save, Romans 1:16
27:17
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:1-4
47:27
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:3-5
52:56
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:7-10
58:26
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:11-15
45:59
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:15-17
51:06
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:17-22
1:02:05
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:21-25
55:14
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · The Book of Romans
Romans 1:26-32
1:03:20
Permission granted by The Word For Today

Questions answered from Romans 1

Short answers from Always Ready that cite this chapter

Chuck Smith on Romans 1

Verse by verse, the C2000, 1979 to 1985 and C3000, 1985 to 1999 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.

C2000 · 1979 to 1985

Chapter introduction

This time let us turn in our Bibles to Romans, chapter 1. Paul opens his epistle to the Romans declaring:

Verse 1

Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God (1:1).

Twenty-five years before Paul wrote this epistle to the Romans he was on the road to Damascus to imprison the Christians there. When suddenly about noon there came a light brighter than the mid-day sun and there the Lord said, "Saul, Saul why persecute thou me?" And he answered and said, "Who art thou Lord, that I might serve thee?" Now twenty-five years later Paul writes, "Paul, a servant or a bond slave, of Jesus Christ."

Writing to the Philippian church concerning that same conversion experience he said, "Those things which were gain to me I counted loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ for whom I suffered the loss of all things and do count them but refuse that I may know Him" (I Corinthians 3:7-8). What I am seeking to point out is that the commitment that Paul had made twenty-five years earlier was still being honored.

There are a lot of people who talk about past experiences, but the past experiences have not been translated into the present relationship, and thus, past experiences become null and void unless they are translated into present relationships. Those things which were gain to me I counted loss, twenty-five years ago. "Yea doubtless I do count them," you see, it is still going on. So past experience is only valid as it is translated into my present walk and relationship. Twenty-five years ago, "Who art thou, Lord, that I may serve thee?" Now twenty-five years later, "Paul a servant of Jesus Christ."

We just finished the book of Acts, and to help place the book of Romans, the writing of the book of Romans, into the study that we just had in Acts, if you will remember when Paul was in Ephesus and Demetrius the silversmith created a big ruckus and they brought all the people of the city into the arena and they were chanting, "Great is Diana the Ephesus," and so forth. How that at that point Paul said, "Well, I am going to go to Macedonia and to Corinth and I am going to go to Jerusalem and I must also see Rome." There Paul expressed his desire as he left Ephesus going over to Macedonia and then to Corinth, ultimately going on to Rome, "I must also see Rome." When he got to Corinth, before going back to Jerusalem, it was from Corinth that Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome. That will help you place it historically in the book of Acts. He wrote the letter to the church in Rome from Corinth. As he got ready to leave Corinth to go back to Jerusalem, he found out that there was an assassination, a plot against him. They were going to throw him overboard, and so instead of taking the ship from Corinth, he went back north to Macedonia, crossed over to Troas, and then made his way around the coast catching ships back to Jerusalem. He gave up his hopes of being there for Passover and intended to be there for the Feast of Pentecost. In Jerusalem he was arrested, taken to Cesarea, held in prison for two years. He appealed unto Caesar and now, of course, in the book of Acts he was finally going to Rome. This was written some two years, a little more than two years before Paul was able to go to Rome, and he is going to express his desire to come to Rome and the purpose for which he desired to go there.

"Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." The Bible tells us that we should make our calling and election sure. Paul said, "I was called to be an apostle." It is wrong for us to classify callings of God as important or highest calling or greatest calling or whatever. I don't know what God has called you to be. But it is important that you realize that you can't be any more than what God has called you to be. And we oftentimes get into trouble trying to do more than God has called us to do. Paul was called to be an apostle, then that is great, Paul should be an apostle. If he said, "Paul, called to be a tentmaker," then he should be a tentmaker. "Paul, called to be a camel driver," then he should be a camel driver.

Whatever God has called you to be that is the highest calling for your life, because you can't be more than what God has called you to be, and God only holds you responsible to be what He has called you to be. We oftentimes are guilty of taking on duties that God hasn't laid on us. Taking upon ourselves the responsibility because we have a great desire to serve God in some greater capacity, and thus, I launch into areas where God has not called me and that can be disastrous. I would give you a personal testimony, but we don't have time. I have tried to be on occasions but God didn't call me to be. I always ended disastrously. Sometimes our ambitions and our desires are beyond the Lord's callings.

"Paul, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God," which, of course, the book of Romans is dedicated to that subject.

Verse 2

(Which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy Scriptures,) (1:2)

This glorious gospel of the Messiah and that salvation through the Messiah is something that God prophesied through the prophets. Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. David came to Nathan the prophet and said, "I want to build a house for the Lord. I live in this beautiful palace and God still lives in that tent. They are still worshipping God in the tabernacle and it isn't right that I should live in this glorious palace while God lives in a tent. I want to build a house for the Lord, the most glorious building in the world." Nathan the prophet said, "Oh, that is great, David, do all that is in your heart."

That night the Lord came to Nathan the prophet and spoke to him and said, "Nathan, you spoke out of turn, you spoke too quickly. You are going to have to go back to David and you are going to have to tell him that he is not going to be able to build a house for me; his hands are too bloody. He is a man of war; I can't have him building a house for me. But you tell David that I will build him a house, and there shall not cease from his seed one to sit upon the throne." David saw Nathan the next day and Nathan said, "David, I have got some bad news and good news." The bad news first. "God spoke to me last night and said you can't build a house for Him, your hands are too bloody. You are a man of war, but your son will be able to rise up and build a house. But the good news David, God is going to build you a house, and from your seed there will never cease to be a king sitting upon the throne of Israel." From which David immediately understood that the Messiah was to come from David's seed.

This was just overwhelming to David. He went in before the Lord, and said, "Oh, Lord, You took me from the sheep coat, from following after the sheep. Lord, I was nothing. I was just a shepherd, and yet, You took me and You made me the King over your people. You have blessed me so much and know You speak of the years to come, oh God, what can I say?" David was brought to a place of silence before God, so overwhelmed by the grace of God. Have you ever been brought to that place? So overwhelmed by the goodness of God that there is nothing you can say. Sam Mulolo said, "When prayer reaches its ultimate, words are impossible." That communion with God when you really realize what God has promised to do for us, it is so overwhelming there are times when I just, what can you say? Too much God. Too much.

According to the promise then, he is come as the seed of David, there shall come out of Jesse a righteous branch. It is interesting that in the gospels when they record the genealogies of Jesus, that though the genealogy of Matthew and Luke are different, both of them go back to David. But from David they take different branches, in Matthew's genealogy when you get to David and David begot Solomon of Bathsheba who was the wife of Uriah, it brings you the genealogy from Solomon on down to Joseph who was supposed by the people to be the father of Jesus. Now in the genealogy coming from Solomon you come to this fellow Jeconiah. The Lord placed a curse upon Jeconiah from the last verse of the twenty-second chapter of Jeremiah, where Jeremiah said, "Hear O earth, hear O earth the word of the Lord, there shall not be a seed of Jeconiah to sit upon the throne of David forever." If Jesus were the son of Joseph He could not sit on the throne.

Luke gives us a another genealogy, the genealogy of Mary, of Joseph who was the son-in-law of Eli. So it is Mary's genealogy in Luke and he traces a different line back to David. He comes back to Nathan the son of David. So that Jesus through Mary, a descendant of David, and thus, a claimant to the throne of David, but not through Jeconiah. If so, He could not be a claimant to the throne, because of the curse of God that there should not be any of Jeconiah's seed sitting upon the throne of Israel. The two genealogies show that it was through David.

Verses 3–4

Paul declares,

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (1:3-4):

That resurrection of Christ, the proof of the declaration.

Verses 5–7

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for the obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ: to all be in [Orange County], the beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you (1:5-7),

And I like to personalize the scriptures. I like to believe that they were writing to me, because the only thing that doesn't really apply to me there is Rome, but I am beloved of God, and God has called me to be a saint. Really, Paul's epistle is to the saints of God. Church.

Verse 7

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:7).

Grace and peace, the Siamese twins of the New Testament. They are always coupled together, and always in that order. I don't recall of any place in the New Testament where it says, "Peace and grace." But it is always, "Grace and peace." Why? Because you cannot really know the peace of God until you have experienced the grace of God.

Now, there was years in my Christian experience that I really didn't have the peace of God. I had peace with God that was established through the death of Jesus Christ, but I didn't have the peace of God, because I was going about my own works to establish a righteous standing before God. As long as I was seeking by my effort to be righteous before God, I never found peace. There was always a struggle in my Christian experience. I was always trying to be a little better and always promising that I would do better. I was restless; I never had peace until I had experienced the grace of God, and then I understood what it is all about--grace and peace. Grace is always first, and if you haven't yet experienced the grace of God, then you really don't know the peace of God in your life yet.

Verse 8

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world (1:8).

There was a body of believers there in Rome and their faith in Christ was known everywhere.

Verse 9

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers (1:9);

It is interesting to me that Paul has to call God as a witness to his prayer life. I think that is proper. Jesus said, "When you pray, go in the closet and shut the door, pray to your Father who sees in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6). Don't make a public show of your prayers. Don't write newsletters all over the United States telling people that you are going to go into your closet of prayer, kneel on your special rug and hold them up in prayer. And then offer to sell them a square of that rug for a five-dollar donation.

"I am going to Jerusalem and I am taking my prayer rug and I am going to place this down on the Mount of Olives, about the spot where Jesus is going to set His foot when He returns. I am going to pray for you on the Mount of Olives. Now, please send me your request, those things you want me to pray for you when I am there. Please enclose a gift." Then your next letter, "You can buy a little square of that prayer cloth, or that rug for a donation." God help us. Paul has to call God as his witness to his prayer life. "God is my witness, I don't cease praying for you night and day."

Verse 10

Making mention of you always in my prayers,

Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you (1:10).

Now Paul is at Corinth, he is going to head for Jerusalem. He doesn't know what awaits him in Jerusalem, except that everywhere he goes the Spirit is telling him that bonds and imprisonment await him there. And yet, as he writes to those in Rome, he is saying, "I am hoping to come to you. I am praying that if by any means I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God." Paul had said, "I must also see Rome." Later, when he was in prison in Jerusalem discouraged and defeated, the Lord said, "Even as you have testified of Me here in Jerusalem, Paul, be of good cheer, because you must also testify of Me in Rome." He didn't come to Rome by the will of God, I don't know that you . . . well, it was a prosperous journey. Though he was shipwrecked and the whole thing, yet by being shipwrecked on the Island of Malta, he was able to lead Publius to the Lord and many of the Maltese people accepted Jesus while Paul was there. So it was spiritually very prosperous though you might challenge that from a purely physical standpoint with all of the hardship that he went through. Fourteen days at sea in that storm when everyone was so sick they couldn't eat. Yet, Paul expresses his desire to God to go to Rome.

Verse 11

For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established (1:11);

Paul's desire not to be just a tourist to see the Colosseum and to see the forum and all of the marvelous buildings in Rome, but the desire is to come to minister to the church that he might impart to them a spiritual gift by which they might be established.

Verse 12

That is, that I maybe comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me (1:12).

That we might really minister to each other. And it is true, you cannot minister to others without being ministered to yourself. You cannot give without receiving. There is always that mutual benefit of the ministry.

Verse 13

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that many times I purposed to come to you, (but up until now I have been hindered,) that I might also have some fruit among you, even as among other Gentiles (1:13).

I desire to bear fruit in Rome as I have in other places.

Verses 14–17

For I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, That the just shall live by faith (1:14-17).

So Paul's declaration: I am ready to come to Rome, I want to bear fruit in Rome, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Jew first also the Greek.

Verse 17

For in this the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (1:17).

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God is revealed because even God could not forgive our sins unrighteously. There had to be a righteous basis for the forgiveness of our sins. For a judge to just totally dismiss charges against a guilty man is not righteous. God cannot just righteously say, "You are forgiven." There has to be a righteous basis, for God is righteous. There has to be a righteous basis for the forgiveness of your sins. That righteous basis is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For God had sentenced the one who sins to death. The only righteous thing is to put to death the sinner, because that is the sentence that has been meted out against sinful man. God established a righteous basis for forgiveness by Jesus Christ becoming a substitute, taking your sin upon Himself and dying in your place. The righteous for the unrighteous. Thus, providing God the righteous basis for the forgiveness, you are forgiven because Jesus Christ died for you. He took your place. The debt that you deserved, He took your place and died for you, and thus, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Verse 18

For the wrath of God (1:18)

Now the righteousness of God, and immediately we contrast that with the wrath of God:

is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (1:18);

Here we find the righteousness of God revealed, now the wrath of God revealed. God's wrath revealed against, number one, the ungodliness; and secondly, the unrighteousness. What is the difference between ungodliness and unrighteousness? You remember when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he had the two tables of stone with the Ten Commandments. On the first table of stone, the first four commandments dealt with man's relationship with God. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Thou shalt not make any graven images or likeness of gods. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Now, to violate one of these first four commands constituted a wrong relationship with God, which is ungodliness. The second table of stone dealt with man's relationship with fellow man. To violate one of the laws on the second table of stone is not living the right kind of life that you should be living with your neighbor, and thus, it constitutes unrighteousness, a wrong relationship with my neighbor, unrighteousness. The wrath of God is to be revealed against the ungodliness and the unrighteousness of men who hold the truth of God, but they hold it in unrighteousness.

Having and knowing is not enough. James said, "Be ye doers of the Word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). A lot of people today are deceiving themselves, because they have heard the Word, they know the Word, they know what God commands, they hold the truth of God, but unfortunately they hold it in unrighteousness.

Verse 19

Because that which may be known of God is manifested in them; for God hath shown it unto them (1:19).

There is within my own conscience of what is right and wrong. Universally there is within the consciousness of man that which I know to be right, that which I know to be wrong. It is manifest within me. God has just sort of inscribed it into my heart and mind and my conscience, and I know what is right, I know what is wrong. That which may be known of God is manifest in them. God has shown it unto them.

Verse 20

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen (1:20),

Or, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen," that is, the invisible God is revealed through His creation. The heavens declare the glory of God, the earth shows His handiwork day unto day they utter their speech, night unto night their voice goes forth. There is not a speech or language where their voice is not heard. God speaks to man in the universal language of nature. So that by nature I am aware that God does exist. A fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."

Verses 20–21

The invisible things of Him are revealed in nature because that when they knew God they were without excuse, because God is revealed

by the things that he has made, even his eternal power and [deity or] Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God (1:20-21),

Now, how can I do that in my own life? I fail to glorify God as God whenever I argue with Him. Because my arguing with God is in essence saying, "I know better what is good for me than You." I am really sort of exalting myself as God. I am not glorifying God as God when I make demands upon Him. When I insist through prayer that God does things this certain way. That is not glorifying God as God, and there is just an awful lot of this being propounded today by some of these present-day evangelists. Much of their teaching is really ungodly, because it elevates man to the position of being an authority and God becomes the servant. So it is no longer, "Chuck, a servant of Jesus Christ," but it is, "Chuck, the Lord of Jesus Christ," in a sense, because He is supposed to follow my every whim and wish and fulfill my every desire.

I was reading in a book the other day by a well-known minister of a very large church that he was desiring a bicycle and praying for a bicycle. And after praying several months for this bicycle and not receiving it, he became angry with God. He said, "How can I teach people to pray and to believe and trust You in prayer when here I have been praying all of this time for a bicycle and You have never given me the bicycle?" He said God said to him, "Well, you have never told me what kind you wanted. There are all kinds of bicycles, ten speeds, cruisers." In my book that is not glorifying God as God. What kind of a God am I serving who doesn't know what kind of a bicycle is best for me? Waiting to get the model number from me before He responds, waiting to get my choice of colors. No, I reject that concept of God. He is not a genie waiting to fulfill my slightest wish or whim. When I seek to treat God as a genie, that is not glorifying God as God. Peter tells us that if any of us suffer according to the will of God, we shall just commit the keeping of our soul unto Him as a faithful creator. I find that commitment, total commitment, is the greatest place of rest and peace I know. Because I don't have in my mind things that God must do for me. But I have a commitment of myself to God, so that whatever He does I accept, and I can rest.

Now we have made our offer for the property in Newport Beach, and I don't know if this point if we are going to get it or not. I am not really praying that we will get it. I am not really praying that we don't get it. I am just praying, "Lord, Your will be done. If You want us to have it, fine, Lord. If You don't want us to have it, fine, Lord." But you see, if I was in a big "have to," "We have got to have this property," and you get into that thing, "God, You have got to give this to us," then I am sitting in the driver seat and I am ordering God what to do. I am then putting myself in the position of God, making Him subservient to me. That is not glorifying God as God. It is a trap that people fall into quite easily. Total commitment to whatever God wants. Such a beautiful way to live, because you learn that to accept whatever comes along. You are never disturbed, because you are always expecting to be disturbed. The man who is always disturbed is the man who never expects to be disturbed; he doesn't really plan disturbances into his life. Thus, he is very disturbed whenever disturbance comes. But the man who is never disturbed is the one who is always expecting disturbances. So when a disturbance comes it doesn't disturb him, because he is expecting it.

Now I have got a working relationship with God. I reaffirm it every morning: "God, You can disturb me today for anything You want. If my plans don't coincide with Yours then, Lord, disrupt my plans. Disturb me, put me on Your path. Because I want Your will to be done in my life today." Thus, if suddenly something comes up and I am not able to make that planned trip or whatever, God has something else in mind. The committing of the keeping of my soul unto Him as a faithful Creator. Glorifying God as God.

But, when they knew God, they would not glorify Him as God.

Verses 21–22

neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (1:21-22),

What Paul is telling them is that God has revealed Himself through nature; man can know God through nature. Nature is a revelation of God. It is speaking to man of the existence of God. It is declaring the glory of God, His power, His wonders. But if a man doesn't want to hold the truth of God, he doesn't want to glorify God as God, he wants to elevate himself to the God level. "I am God for I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. I am God. I am a self-governed man." Then as he looks at nature, he looks at nature from a presuppositional position that God does not exist. He then attempts to explain the phenomena of nature apart from God by natural phenomena. By natural happenings or circumstances. One of their favorite phrases is the fortuitous occurrences of accidental circumstances. That can explain about anything, all of these random chance factors just don't happen. There were all of these fortuitous occurrences of these accidental circumstances that finally that you are the end product of accident. Billions of them, through billions of years, here you suddenly are as the result of this spontaneous generation.

There was an interesting symposium back in Europe in 1975, Carl Sagin wrote a book summarizing the convention. It was the leading scientists of the world who were gathered together for a symposium to determine whether or not extraterrestrial beings were trying to make contact with the planet Earth. So the book published, "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Extraterrestrial Communication" edited by Carl Sagin, was a report of this symposium and its gathering of the world-renowned scientists to offer their various papers on the subject of extraterrestrial beings seeking to communicate to those on the planet Earth. I was very fascinated with one of the very first papers presented to this symposium by a group of scientists who felt that it would be important in determining whether or not there were beings out there trying to communicate with us here on the earth to determine what are the chance factors that life forms that exist on some other planet within the universe. Taking into consideration all of the multiplied obstacles really of life existing, they began to feed into the computer the factors necessary for the development of the first cell, all of the variables to create the first cells. The computer working out these various factors came out with the answer that there was only one chance in ten to the twenty-seventh power of the first cell ever being created. Now supposing the earth is six billion years old, that is about only about ten to the seventeenth power seconds.

So if you had these factors, say a billion of them each second going on for six billion years, you would only be developing your first cell. But then you have to develop two cells at the same place. The first paper concluded that there were no extraterrestrial beings trying to communicate with the planet earth because it is impossible that there could be any life forms anywhere else in the universe because of the complexities of the development of the cell. Like it's impossible any place in the universe. So no sense to have the symposium of whether or not there are extraterrestrial beings trying to communicate with us because it is impossible that they could exist. The chance factors are just . . . rule it out. I thought that there was a very interesting paper. I enjoyed reading it, but I wondered why didn't they carry that one step further and realize that it is impossible, if it is impossible that life forms could exist anywhere in the universe apart from here, how in the world do they think they exist here? If it is impossible that life forms could form on a planet in another galaxy, then it should also be impossible for life forms to appear here, which indeed it is impossible by accident. We were created. But man who comes to nature with a presuppositional base that God does not exist tries to explain the phenomena of life apart from God and you get into all kinds of foolish speculations.

Have you ever wondered how it is that you were able to walk? Well, once upon a time millions of years ago, back when the earth was covered with primordial ooze, and this cell had developed to the place of a worm-like creature, as it made its way out with the ooze and out of the waters, and onto the land, those fish-like creatures coming onto land, flipping itself around on this foreign environment, scratched itself on the coral reef, or upon the rock. And that scratch developed into a wart like a peonage, which continued to develop and grow until it became a leg with feet and five toes. After billions of years when the second leg also developed you were able to walk instead of hop. That is one of the explanations that has been offered for the development of the legs. I sort of agree with Paul, they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

You see, to rule God out is the stance of the fool, for the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." And to try to understand the universe apart from God is impossible without getting into all kinds of fanciful, unbelievable preposterous speculations which is nothing more than sheer foolishness but is being passed off as scientific poppycock.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

Verse 23

Because they changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man (1:23),

They made God like man. They thought of God in terms of man. Sought to bring God down to man's level. The glory of an incorruptible God now made to look like man by the little idol or images that they have carved or drawn.

like birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things (1:23).

As you look at the objects of worship of the ancient men, ancient people, you see these grotesque looking creatures that were representation of the deities of the various people, and you realize what Paul is talking about, man seeking to corrupt God.

Verses 24–25

Now because of this,

God also gave them up to uncleanness [or filthiness] through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: for they changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever (1:24-25).

So God gave them up to these filthy lusts in their own hearts. I can remember that when I was a boy in junior high school, the fellows would smuggle around these sunshine and health magazines. That was about as pornographic as you could get. Magazines that dealt with nudism in the U. S. These were the things the guys would snicker over and it was just, you had to have your connections to even get a copy of them. I think in my lifetime how far we have sunk. Because you can go into practically any grocery store, any drug store, and you can pick up these magazines today with all kinds of implicit pictures that are designed to arouse and stimulate the flesh. We realize that we are seeing the consequences of God giving men up to uncleanness through their lusts. The moral downward spiral that we are observing in our society is concurrent with the teaching of evolution, the denial of the existence of God. Trying to understand our universe apart from God. And the result of man wanting to rule God out of his mind and out of the thinking processes is that God gives man over to a mind in which he can go ahead and sink into the filthiness of his own heart.

Beginning to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, for they exchanged the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. You see, by the evolutionary theory the creature becomes God, it is the almighty cell and its tremendous propensities to make these phenomenal changes to develop all of the forms of life that we can see. The marvelous adaptabilities in nature. It becomes God. They worship and serve the creature more than the Creator.

They look at nature irrationally, deifying nature rather than worshiping the God who created nature. Whenever you stop at nature and you worship nature, you're stopping one step short. That is irrational to look at nature and say, "That is God." It is looking at nature and saying, "That is the creation of God," and letting nature speak to you of God, that is the rational way to observe nature. So man became irrational in his observation of nature and he worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever.

Verses 26–28

For this cause God gave them up to unnatural affections: for even their women did exchange the natural use for that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men doing that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was necessary. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are [unspeakable,] not convenient, [not proper] (1:26-28);

Man's degradation, the downward spiral, can we observe it? You bet we can in the day in which we live. We see these very things of which Paul warned and spoke as man has sought to eliminate God from his mind, from his life, from our schools, the awareness the consciousness of God. We see the inevitable consequences in a society that is going deeper into the cesspool of immorality. We see the downward trend.

Verses 29–31

Being filled with all unrighteousness, now they held the truth of God in unrighteousness, but now they don't even hold the truth of God anymore, God gave them over to reprobate minds and thus,

They are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, spiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affections, implacable, unmerciful (1:29-31):

Sounds like the morning newspaper. We are surrounded. We see the inevitable consequences of man trying to rule God out of his life. We see it in our society in which we live, these very things, prevalent in our society.

Verse 32

Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them (1:32).

Now you watch soap operas? Do you enjoying watching soap operas? Do you enjoy watching Dallas? Do you enjoy watching a murder mystery? Do you enjoy watching movies that have these X-rated features to them? If you enjoy watching these things, then are you not taking pleasure in those who do them? You see, you may go off very self righteously and say, "I never commit fornication. I have never murdered anybody, or I have never done this or that or the other." But Paul says, "Not only do they do them, but they take pleasure in those that do them." That is a person actually enjoys reading about it. Or a person enjoys watching it portrayed. Things that I wouldn't think about doing myself, but there is some kind of an excitement watching someone else do it. That is taking pleasure in those that do. Be careful, God help us. We are being bombarded on every side by Satan's wiles, seeking to snare us, draw us in. Because it is fascinating, it is interesting, "Oh, it is just life and I am just interested in life." Rationalize how you please. Be careful if you take pleasure in people who do these things, watching them do these things.

C3000 · 1985 to 1999

Chapter introduction

What a joy it is. To labor for the Lord and to serve the Lord. And that brings us to Romans, chapter one, where Paul said:

Paul, a servant(a bondservant or bondslave) of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote his letter to the Romans while he was in Corinth at about 60 AD. It was his third visit to Corinth. And in his opening here, he will express to them the desire that he has had, to come to Rome. A long standing desire, but up until this present, the time that he wrote, he was hindered from going. Now when we closed the Book of Acts last week, we found Paul in Rome, at the end of the Book of Acts. That was three years after he wrote this desire that he had to come to Rome. Now he speaks of his desire as having been a long standing desire. We know that it was the will of God that Paul was to go to Rome. Jesus said, “As you have borne witness of Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness of Me in Rome”. This desire to go to Rome was a desire that was put upon his heart by the Lord as the Lord said that He would write His desires on the fleshly tablets of our hearts. So God had put upon Paul’s heart that desire to go to Rome, but it was several years before the desire was a fulfillment. Often times God reveals His will in advance, but it takes time for it to be accomplished. Look how long Abraham waited for the promise of God to give him a son through Sarah. And so often times like with Abraham, we get impatient waiting upon God. And we think, well, maybe God needs my help. Maybe God can’t quite do it without me getting involved. As the general rule, we are able to pretty well mess things up when we get involved. And then it takes a little longer for God to unscramble our mess before He can go ahead with His program. So Paul is writing. And so you were three years ahead of this writing last week. Now we are going back three years earlier as Paul was writing to the Romans, expressing his desire to come.

He calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. When Paul was on his way to Damascus to imprison the believers of Jesus Christ. Breathing out murder against them. Very strong in his feelings against Christianity. Determined to wipe out this sect! The Lord apprehended Paul. And as he was lying there on the ground, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest Thou Me?” His response was, “Who art Thou, Lord, that I might serve Thee?” And it was at that point that Paul became a servant of Jesus Christ.

Now he is writing to the Roman church many years later. About twenty seven or so years later. And he calls himself a slave or a bondslave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, Writing to the Ephesians, he said Paul an Apostle by the will of God. Here he speaks of his calling to be an Apostle. One who has been sent out by the Lord and separated unto the gospel of God, Or the Good News of God. About the only place you are going to find good news today is in the church. You won’t watch it or you won’t see it on the television newscast. You are going to see bad news only. You won’t read it in your newspapers. But the good news of Jesus Christ is just as good as it ever was! The news that God can transform our lives from darkness to light! From the power of Satan unto God, the wonderful good news!

Verse 2

2(Which (that is good news) he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) As you go through the Old Testament and the prophesies of the Scriptures, they are prophesying of the coming of God's anointed King or the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the Messiah! And thus the good news is that God has fulfilled the promises to their fathers, the prophets. And God has sent the Messiah, the Savior into the world. Isaiah said all of us like sheep had gone astray. We turned everyone of us to our own way. And God laid on Him the iniquities of us all. The good news of the Messiah who would come and who would bear our sins. God would put on Him the iniquities of us all. But by bearing our sin, He would grant to us eternal life, forgiveness of sins.

Verse 3

So the promise of this good news by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord

(Over three hundred predictions concerning Jesus. Giving details and aspects of His life were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. It, as far as mathematical probabilities, is impossible for anyone to fulfill those predictions. And yet Jesus did.)

And so he was declared, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; Many of the promises concerning the Messiah were related to David. It started when David had his friend Nathan over. As they were sitting there talking, David said, you know Nathan, I was watching the people go into the tent over there to worship God. For they had moved the Tabernacle to Jerusalem. I was sitting here in my palace. In all my luxuries of my palace. And here God is dwelling in a tent. That is not fair Nathan. I’m going to build a house for God that is going to excel anything. I mean I’m not going to spare any expense. I’m going to build God a magnificent house! His friend Nathan the prophet said that that sounded like a splendid idea. Do all that is in your heart. Nathan went home. He couldn’t sleep that night. God woke him up and said Nathan, you spoke out of turn. You didn’t wait on Me. You didn’t listen for My voice. You encouraged David to build Me a house. Nathan, I can’t have David building Me a house. This guy’s hands are too bloody. So you’re going have to go back and tell David that he can’t build Me a house. But you tell David, I’ll build him a house! And that there will be one of his seed that will sit upon the throne forever. That is the Messiah will be a descendant of David.

So the next morning as Nathan came into David he said, Oh, David I’ve got some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that you can’t build God a house. You are a man of war. Your hands are bloody. But the good news is that God said He took you from the sheepcote and from following after the sheep and He made you the ruler over His people. And God is going to build you a house. And there shall never cease one of your descendants from sitting on the throne. David immediately recognized that as a promise that from his descendants, the Messiah would come.

So David went in to the Lord. He said, oh Lord, You took me from the sheepcote, following after the sheep. You made me the ruler over Your people. Oh God, You have done so much! I mean I’m amazed at what You’ve already done for me. But now You speak of the future! What can I say? Here, David, probably the most articulate man who ever lived. A man who was gifted in words praising God. The Psalms are the witness of how capable this man was of expression of praise and thanksgiving. And yet, so overwhelmed by the goodness of God, is that he is speechless!

You know, I love it when you just get to that place of awe and wonder so much that you just can’t say anything. Saborollan said when prayer reaches its ultimate, words are impossible. And you have been so overwhelmed by God's love and grace that I just, you know, just can’t. Anything you say is almost cheapening what God has done. In trying to express thanks, there aren’t any words in the English language that are adequate to express the feelings of your heart and your spirit for what the Lord has done for you. This is happening to me more and more. God is blessing in such glorious ways, that I find myself at a loss trying to express how much I appreciate what God has done and what God is doing. I find words are inadequate as the Scriptures speak about the joy. It says it is unspeakable or that it is indescribable.

Paul in describing the glorious trip that he had to heaven. He said that it was impossible, it would be a crime to try to describe the glory and the beauties that he heard while there in heaven. It would be a crime to try and describe it because language hasn’t been invented.

The modern philosophers today talk about the ultimate experience. And the difficulty of having the ultimate experience. Now were are not sure that anybody has yet had it because the difficulty is that if a person did have the ultimate experience, they wouldn’t be able to describe it because there haven’t been words that have been created that could describe or define the ultimate experience. So if you had it you really couldn’t share it. Because there isn’t language to share it. And so if you had it and you should say to a friend. Oh, oh, last night, I had the ultimate experience. And if they say, oh great, tell me about it. They’d know that you don’t know anything about it. Because if you knew anything about it, you knew you couldn’t describe it. Julian Huxley, who has had such a tremendous influence on our present educational system thought that the ultimate experience was perhaps dying under or while hallucinating on LSD. He influenced a lot of people. In fact they were having so many of the university students in Europe committing sucicide, thinking that maybe this was the ultimate experience, death being the ultimate experience. Can you imagine that? That they had to start telling the classes, we’re not certain that death is the ultimate experience. In other words, don’t try to find the ultimate experience in sucicide or death because we’re not certain that that is it. Oh, poor world. As we get down a little bit Paul is going to tell us about it. Professing himself to be wise, he became a fool because they began to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.

Verse 4

And declared to be (In the Scriptures) the Son of God with power,

The son of David according to the Scriptures but also declared to be the Son of God with power. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. The child was to be of the seed of David, but He was also to be the Son of God given to us. A child is born, a Son is given. The Psalm two speaks about the Son of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, we are told in John.

So declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: The greatest proof that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah is the resurrection from the dead! In the gospel of John, as he closes his gospel, he said, and many other signs Jesus did, which I did not record. But these things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you might have life in His name. Now as John gave to us the sign of Jesus, the works, the miracles that prove that He was supernatural, the Son of God, the final sign would be His resurrection from the dead. When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign, He said there will no sign be given to this wicked and adulterous generation except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The only sign Jesus was going to give to them was His resurrection. And so Paul said, by His resurrection from the dead He was declared to be the Son of God.

Verse 5

By whom (That is by Jesus.) we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

So Paul experienced the grace of God. He talked of himself as the chief of sinners and yet as such he experienced the grace of God. You, too, can experience the grace of God. God’s blessings, God's unmerited favor and this theme of God's grace. We are gong to discover it throughout the whole book of Romans. And I pray that as we come through the book of Romans, that you will come to a fuller, richer understanding of God's grace than you ever have before.

You see, so much of our training is that of reward for good behavior and punishment for bad behavior. So if you want to receive special favors you are especially good. I mean that is just the way it is. If you don’t want any dessert, just be bad and you will be deprived of dessert. You have to go to bed right after dinner, but you don’t get dessert because you have been bad today. So it’s the reward system. The reward for being good and the punishment for being bad. And it so clouds our attitude mentally that we carry this over to God. And there are so many times where we feel, well I’ve been so horrible. I’ve been so miserable. I’ve just been out of sorts and surely God won’t bless me today because I’ve been so miserable. And God doesn’t bless you. And you say, see, I knew it! I knew God wouldn’t bless me. I’ve been so horrible. Well, no, that isn’t why God didn’t bless you. The reason why God didn’t bless you is that you didn’t believe and trust Him to bless you. If you believe and trust God to bless you, He will! If you believe that He won’t, He won’t. You don’t have faith for the blessings. You know that I have discovered this interesting thing about grace. That I have learned to expect to be blessed by God though I realize that I don’t deserve it. You know what? The blessings have never stopped because I’m trusting God to bless me because I know that God loves me and wants to bless me! God wants to bless you. God wants to just lavish His love upon you.

Jesus said if you being earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to your children. Now I take my grandkids into Toys R Us and I turn them loose and we go up to the check stand and check out the toys that they have chosen. And I love it! I love it! It’s just, I don’t know, it just does something for me to see their smiles and to see their reactions and their responses. Before they can hardly talk, when grandpa is coming down, it’s Chuck E Cheese or Toys R Us, you know. I mean it’s just a routine. And it’s a joy! Just a joy. And so with God! And if you, being an earthly father. I’m just an earthly father. I’m not even a good example, but God loves you and just wants to bless you! And the lack of blessings is not because of the lack of devotion, it’s because of the lack of faith. The lack of devotion often creates the lack of faith. And if you believe something to be true, and in a sense, if I believe that, you know, as long as I’m doing this, God isn’t going to bless me. As long as I’m doing that, I’m not going to expect God to bless me. He doesn’t. I mean, the blessings are received by faith in God's grace. We are going to get into that quite a bit as we go through Romans. So that you will discover the key to being blessed by God. When I discovered this several years ago while going through Romans, I discovered the grace of God. And the fact that God will bless me because of His love for me, not because I deserve it. Not because I’m worthy. But even when I’m totally undeserving and unworthy, He even often times chooses that to show His grace. Just to say I still love you, Chuck, in spite of the fact that you’ve really messed it up. I still love you. It’s just sort of an assurance of saying, I still love you. And what a joy it is to be blessed of God. And not on a reward of my goodness but just as a sign of His tremendous love for me. So we’ve received grace and apostleship for the obedience to the faith among all nations for His name. The Lord had sent Paul out to all the nations. Apostleship means to be sent out. Sent out by God to all of the nations for the name of Christ.

Verse 6

Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

I’ve been called to be an apostle. You also, have been called by Jesus Christ.

Verse 7

And so his address of the letter is

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God,

You know, you love everybody, but your family is beloved. They are close. There is a special kind of a love for those who are in the family. And being in the family of God, you’ve got a special relationship. For God so loved the world, but you are beloved of God. You are special. Very special. You’re of the family of God; and thus in that intimate circle of beloved of God and called to be saints: It’s rather tragic that the Catholic church has set up a long list of qualifications in order to be sainted by the church. You’ve got to live sort of an exemplary life. You have to do many wonderful deeds. Then after you die you have to answer the prayers of the people so that they can give testimony that they have prayed to you and their loved one was healed or some miracles were done as they prayed to you. And if they get enough witnesses and testimonies to say, well, we prayed to Saint Charles and he, you know, did this for us and did that for us and all, then they will have their meeting and their counsel. They will consider you. And then they will acclaim that you were a saint. And you will get the official title of saint. The Lord doesn’t put you through all that rigamarow. The Lord just calls you a saint. That’s neat. I like the ring. It sounds great! Saint Charles, I mean, doesn’t that have a ring to it? I mean it sounds good.

You know I like it that John referred to himself as the disciple that Jesus loved. Nobody else said that about him. Mark, Matthew, Luke, they don’t say John was the disciple that Jesus loved. Only John says that. He calls himself the disciple that Jesus loved. Well, you are the one who He has made a saint. You’ve been called to be a saint. And that’s just by His grace. Again, it isn’t that I’m deserving that title, but that’s something that He has given.

No wonder he follows that by saying, Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice this is so typical. Paul begins all of his letters with this grace and peace. It is always in that order. You never read peace and grace be unto you. And the reason being is that you cannot know the peace of God until you know the grace of God. It is not until you know the grace of God that you can enter into the rest that God has for His people or that peace. As long as you are trying to be good enough to be accepted by God, you’ll always be struggling. You’ll never be at peace. It is only unto you come to the place where you understand it is God's work and God's love for you that has put you in the family of God. As undeserving and unworthy as we are, but God's grace towards me and the finished work of Jesus Christ, my righteousness is imputed to me by my faith in Jesus. And there I rest and because of that I have now peace. But I didn’t have real peace until I knew and discovered the grace of God. And then it follows that, I’m resting. Not in my works but in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 8

First, (He said) I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Now it is interesting that we don’t know anything of the origin of the church in the city of Rome. But it shows us how the gospel had spread. In fact in the first thirty years of the early church, the gospel was taken into all the world. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, just a couple of years later, he said and the word of the gospel as it has come to you as it is in all the world.

In the last chapter of Acts, we find that when Paul finally arrived at the Roman port of Puteoli, when the saints in Rome heard of Paul’s arrival, they came on out to the Appiian Way to meet Paul, all the way to Appii to meet Paul there and some as far as the Three Taverns. They came over to meet him. There was a strong body of believers there in Rome. And their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. People were talking about the wonderful church in Rome. It’s exciting that God is working in so many places today! We could very well write to many of the pastors and say, you know we thank God for your faith and how that, you know, your church is being blessed and people all over the world are hearing of what God is doing there in San Diego or there in Albuquerque or Ft. Lauderdale or Spokane or Seattle or all around where God is working in such a glorious way.

Verse 9

For God (He said) is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, (The good news of Jesus!) that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

(Interesting, that as Paul speaks about his prayer life, he declares that God is his witness. Jesus said, when you pray, go into the closet and shut the door and pray to your Father, which sees in secret. And your Father which sees in secret will shall reward you openly. Paul could not call others to bear witness, though they were his companions. He didn’t say that Timothy will bear witness that I’m always praying for you. Or Luke will bear witness of my prayer for you. Or Aristarchus will bear witness of the prayers that I’ve prayed. No, he says, God is my witness, that without ceasing, I’m mentioning you always in my prayers. This man Paul is an Apostle, a servant of Jesus Christ, and really an example. He was able to say, be ye followers of me even as I also am of Jesus Christ. The prayer life of Paul. God bears witness.

Verses 10–12

Making request, (His prayer was, that) if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

My desire, my prayer. I want to come. I want to visit you. I’m praying that that will be the will of God. Now Paul was desiring to go to many different places, and God stopped him. They has tried to go to Bithynia but the Spirit hindered them. Now Paul is praying that it will be God's will, after all this time, I’d like to come and visit you in Rome. Not that I might see the sights of Rome. Not that I might walk through the Forum and you know, see all of the wonderful sights there in Rome.

For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end (the end result) ye may be

established(to be more established in you faith. Not to come as a tourist or a sightseer or to satisfy a curiosity of just seeing Rome, the lights of Rome and all. But my desire is to impart to you some spiritual gift. The end result is your being established.);

That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

That just by our sharing together, I will be edified, you will be edified. That should be the experience. Whenever we gather with the body of Christ, there should be a mutual edifying, blessing. Oh, how good to see you! Oh, what a blessing it is to be able to spend this time with you. And as we share with one another what God is doing in our lives, it is always just a blessing, an edifying experience. And that’s what Paul is desiring. That I might come and share with you what God has been doing in my life. I want to hear what God is doing in your life. That we might just have mutual benefit by our visiting together.

Verse 13

Now he says, I want you to know.

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you,

(but was let hitherto, Up to now I have been hindered.) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I want to see God's work in your life. Now the Bible speaks about fruit abounding to our account. The fruit of the ministry. People’s lives being blessed. People’s lives being edified through the ministry. That’s the fruit of the ministry. The blessings that come to others. So Paul desires that he might bear fruit in Rome there also. He might be able to bring others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Verses 14–16

I am debtor (he said) both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

I want to come and preach the gospel!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

So Paul’s expression of his desire to preach the gospel in Rome, the capital of the world. He had that opportunity. It didn’t come just as he was expecting or hoping. He came to Rome as a prisoner of the Roman government because of his appeal to Caesar. But God blessed his time in Rome as we studied in the last chapter of Acts. Many were converted. Paul wrote later to the Corinthians, telling them of the conversion of many, even those of Caesar’s household. And so a great ministry there in Rome. Fruit as he desired.

Verse 17

So in the gospel of Christ,

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The righteousness of God through faith. It’s revealed in faith. There is that righteousness that is of works. That is doing the right things. And there are many people who practice hard at doing the right thing.

The Pharisees, look how hard they struggled to do the right thing. Jesus spoke of the Pharisees of straining at a gnat. It was unlawful to eat anything that had blood. All of the meat that they butchered had to be thoroughly bled to be kosher. To be eaten. So if they were jogging down the street and a gnat would go down their throat they would gag themselves straining at a gnat, trying to regurgitate the thing so they wouldn’t swallow it and thus violate the law of having blood. They tried hard to be righteous. But the righteousness was self righteousness. And God said our self righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God. All of that tremendous endeavor of the Pharisees was, Jesus said, except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you are not going to enter the kingdom of heaven.

So the righteousness of God is the other righteousness versus the self righteousness which is my work. It is the righteousness which is through faith in Jesus Christ where God imputes to me the righteousness of Christ. Now when Jesus said to His disciples, except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, I’m certain that their mouths dropped open and they said, no way. I mean these guys practice being righteous. And Jesus said, that isn’t sufficient. You’ve got to exceed, but Jesus was talking about not righteousness that comes by our works but righteousness that comes by our faith in Jesus Christ. The righteousness that God accounts or imputes to me. And as we go in Romans, this will be one of the subjects that Paul takes up in great detail. That righteousness which is of Christ through faith. Now the righteousness of God is revealed. As we get into verse eighteen, the wrath of God is revealed. So the revelation of the righteousness of God. That is which is imparted to me that the just shall live by faith, by my faith in Jesus Christ. God accounts my faith for righteousness.

Verse 18

But on the other side of the coin, the wrath of God shall be revealed. Now not a popular subject. People don’t like to hear about this. The moment you mention the wrath of God then they give you some kind of a classification of hell fire, brimstone preacher. And they don’t want to hear of the wrath of God. There is all of this flowery talk of the love of God and you know, God is love and love is God. This whole bit. And they don’t want to know. They don’t want to hear that God's wrath is going to be revealed. And yet if we do not teach that God's wrath is going to come against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness, we are not being honest with the people. We are not declaring the full gospel. There is that other side. Yes, God is love. Yes, God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. But the other side of the coin is:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

You cannot sin without paying the consequences for your sin. Either your sins will be forgiven by the grace of God through Jesus Christ or you will be punished forever for your sins. The Bible speaks of the judgment of God that is going to come upon this earth as God will judge the earth for their wickedness and their sin. And I do believe that that day of God's judgment is not far off. I believe the conditions of the world are getting to that place where God must judge the world. Now we do know historically that God has judged the world with a flood. We know historically that God has judged certain cities. When the wickedness gets so bad then God just says that’s it. And He wipes out that generation. As He did in the days of Noah. When the hearts of men were only evil continually. He did that in the case of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where their sins became so blatant that God wiped them out. So the wrath of God will be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness. It’s not that they don’t know God. But they hold the truth of God in unrighteousness.

Verse 19

And so Paul tells us and he gives now the indictment. This is the cause. This is the reason.

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

No man has an excuse for not believing in God for God has revealed Himself unto man by His creation. And it is God's intent that man in observing God's creation, comes to the acknowledgment and the knowledge of the existence of God. You cannot have design without a designer or a machine without a mechanic or an engineer who designed it. And so here we are. The wrath of God has been revealed because when they knew that God existed. That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God had showed it unto them. The Bible tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. You go out and look up into the heavens. You see the moon, the stars, the planets, the galaxies. They declare to you of the Creator. And even scientists today are forced to admit the day of creation. They call it the big bang. But when it all started, we say that there was a Creator. God was the first cause, not the big bang the first cause.

Verse 20

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The heavens declare the glory of God. The earth shows His handiwork. The life forms show design. Oh, what fabulous design. You look at the plants, the flowers, the insects, the animals, and man. You have to marvel at the design. We are in a day in which men are, you know, making everything very small. Trying to make miniature kind of chips and so forth. Everything is smaller and smaller, doing more work. Can you imagine how large an ant brain must be? Yet the wisdom that the little ant has. He knows that winter is coming. He can’t swim so he lays up store in the summer. You’ve probably met some of them lately in your kitchen. They are gathering up for winter when they can’t get out. Now what tells that little ant where the food is? And how does he tell his friends? How does he communicate? I’ve found something, you know. And then to watch four of five of them working together to get one crumb off the table you know. Amazing! And yet their brains can’t be that big. Solomon, that wise man said, go the ant, you sluggard. Learn of his ways and be wise. There are four things on earth that are small but are exceedingly wise. He talks about the ants laying up their food in the summer. Design, marvelous design! They tell you of the wisdom of God. The heavens, the awesomeness of the universe tells you of the glory of God! And day unto day they are talking to you. And night unto night they are speaking. And it’s a universal language. That is why in every culture, even the most primitive, there is the awareness and the consciousness of God and the worship of God. Many times it’s false. They have been lead astray, but yet the basic idea and concept of the existence of a Creator, a higher power, is there. Why? Because it is revealed throughout His creation.

Verse 21

But,

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Now we have the downward plunge of man. Yes, God exists. It’s obvious in creation. The design testifies of the Creator. But yet men do not glorify Him as God. We are exalting man. We are in the age of humanism. Where man is exalted. Actually I guess we are getting to the place of animalism and treeism because they are beginning to exalt the animals and the trees above man. But the worship of the creation rather than the Creator. First of all they knew God but they wouldn’t glorify Him as God.

How do these things come about? You have to get really imaginative. How did you get your eyes? Well, zillions of years ago when you were just a worm, the sun began to give you ultraviolet radiation that caused a mutation of your cells that created a freckle. Unfortunately the freckle wasn’t on the tail end. And gradually through a process of many mutations, that freckle turned into an eye. In a socket. That could move. And you could see around. So you became a salamander. And as you were trying to make your way over the rocks, the coral, fresh out of that hot ocean, your poor little bottom side got scratched. Scabbed over. It became callused. And it continued to grow and develop until it became legs. And then you could walk. You see, as I said when you try and put God out of the equation, it takes an awful lot of imagination. They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Verse 22

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Why do we laugh at this? Because it’s foolish when you really stop to think of it. To think that your body could have developed through billions of years of fortudious occurrences of accidental circumstances is ridiculous. But he is on the downhill plunge.

Verse 23

Next,

And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,

The worship of man. And today we see that don’t we? Young people by the thousands worshipping man. Gathering at the concerts worshipping. Worshipping the creature, man. Making their gods like unto corruptible man and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Save the kangaroo rat. And it’s amazing how many people will rally for these causes. But just take a good look at them. But really the tragic thing is that the government listens to them. They all look pretty much the same. Cut out of the same cloth.

Verses 24–25

Now because of this, changing the glory of an uncorruptible God into the image of a man or beast or birds or whatever.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,

God gave them over to the lusts to following and doing the lusts of their own hearts. to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (A further step down.)

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

I would like to suggest that the worship of the creature is irrational. To take a rose. To look at its beautiful design. To see the glorious color. To hold it to your nose and take a deep breath. And smell that marvelous fragrance. Then to hold it out and admire it and to say “That’s God”. That’s ridiculous. That’s not God. That’s a creation of God. And it’s irrational to behold the beauty of the rose and to worship the rose! The rational thing is to worship the One who was able to create such a beautiful flower. To put in it such a pleasant fragrance. Worshipping the Creator rather than the creature. But man has got things all mixed up today. And we are worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. And we are ascribing to the creature all types of miraculous powers of developing organs and so forth in order to meet the various recognized needs that I might have. So we’re going downhill! Changing the truth of God to a lie. Oh how that is being done today. Because they did not want to retain the truth of God. They changed it into a lie.

Verses 26–27

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

(Or lesbianism.)

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

(Which was fitting for what they had been doing. It is interesting to me that Satan will bring man to the lowest level of filth.

Take the worship of these men in India, who have declared that they have had an experience of becoming gods, the avatar. They’ve gone through this transformation. And they have gone through the next level of evolutionary development. And they have entered into the god state. The Sibabbas and the others that brilliant professors go over to learn and to sit and to worship these men. Now these men who have elevated themselves to this god level. The Sibabbas and these others. To show you the level to which Satan brings a man’s mind when he has taken over and has control. It is considered by these people that go over to worship the Sibabbas and so forth, a tremendous honor to drink his urine or to eat his defecation. Because they feel that god, Sibabba is entering them. Look at what Satan is reducing people to!

Some of the practices in homosexuality are much the same. The scatting and so forth in homosexuality is the same thing. Satan will bring you to the lowest filthiest level! So here are men who refuse God. They don’t want retain God in their minds. They won’t acknowledge the truth of God. And so you are on a down hill skid to the lowest levels of depravity and filth. It isn’t just a, well you know, I just don’t want to believe in God and all. Hey, that is just the beginning. You are on the way down. And you are going to end up at the bottom! For this cause God gave them over to their vile affections. Now it is interesting to me, he says the wrath of God is going to be revealed from heaven. And it’s when man gets to this level that the wrath of God is revealed. The wrath of God was revealed against Sodom and Gomorrah when? When it came to the place where the homosexuals were actively operating in streets brazenly. Parading their gay pride. That’s when God said, “It’s enough”. And He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And I believe that the activity of the homosexual community, the gay pride parades and things of this nature, are only an indication of that we are at the place where the wrath of God will soon again be revealed from heaven. The judgment of God against the unrighteousness of men.

Verses 28–32

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, (I don’t want to know about God.) God gave them over to a reprobate mind, (Void of God and the understanding of God.) to do those things which are not convenient

(decent);

Being filled with all unrighteousness, (and now the activities), fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

There are things that you abhor. That you would never think of doing. And yet it is interesting how that in television and movies, people take pleasure in those that do them. We watch these horrible things. People being blown away and you know, the tough guy. Heads rolling and things like that. There is some kind of a reason why people watch that stuff. They take pleasure in seeing fornication or adultery or stuff like that portrayed in movies. So not only do they do them but they take pleasure. Those who take pleasure in those things are guilty. The Bible says, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked. What so ever a man sows, that shall he also reap. And if you sow to the flesh, of the flesh you are going to reap corruption. If you are sowing this stuff into your mind. Taking pleasure and sowing this junk into your mind to the flesh, then you are going to reap corruption. People just don’t go out and do these things. They are things that are planted in their minds.

Bundy confessed to James Dobson of being hooked on pornography. How that pornography finally didn’t satisfy. He had to actually go out and experience. And thus that chain of murders. You are sowing that in your mind. You are planting seeds of corruption. Oh, that God would help us to keep ourselves pure. Our minds pure! Our hearts pure! That we would sow to the Spirit. And that’s why you are here tonight. You are sowing to the Spirit tonight. The Word of God is Spirit and it is Life. And this will transform you. This will change you. This will elevate you. It’ll lift you out of the pit and this world and its corruption. And it will put you on another level, a higher level. A pure level. A holy level. That’s why it’s so important that we guard what goes into our mind. And that we plant to the Spirit, that we study the Word and we stay in the Word, because we are living in a corrupt world and it is trying to infect you with its corruption and evil. You’ve got to stand.

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. We’ve got to make that purpose in our heart. I’m not going to defile my mind. I’m not going to defile my body. I’m going to stay pure for God's sake. I’m going to seek after God. And as you do, you’re lifted higher and higher.

You turn away from God. You don’t want God in your mind. You take that path. You begin to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. You’ll end up at the bottom of filth. You are moving in one direction or the other. Upward or downward. And you determine the direction by your own desires. I want to seek God. I want to be conformed into His image. I want to be pure and holy as He is pure and holy. Moving up. I don’t want to keep God in my mind. I want to do my own thing. I want to follow my own desire. You’re moving down. And Satan will take you to the bottom. You’ll find yourself doing things that you never dreamed that you would ever do or were capable of doing. You find yourself in that pit.

Now Paul here in chapter one is showing that without God, we’re all of us are lost. The whole world is guilty. As we move into the next chapter he will confirm that. There is none righteous, no not one. And so as we move into chapter two he’ll show us that we are all guilty thus we all need salvation that God has offered to man. We will understand now even more the grace of God. It’s extended to man at the bottom of the pit. That man who has gone all the way down to the depths is not beyond the love of God or the reach of God or the grace of God. For God's grace reaches to the lowest hell to bring a man out of the pit who is ready to be destroyed. Oh how marvelous is the grace of God that He has offered to you and to me!

Father, we thank You for Your Word. It is Spirit. It is Life. And Lord, we see the world around us. And we see the very things that Paul is describing here and men who did not want to retain God in their minds. And so were given over by God to reprobate minds. To do these filthy things. To live lives like animals. Lord, we want to live like You. We want the higher plane, Lord. We want to be conformed into the image of Jesus. Purify our minds and our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

A fellow wrote to Ann Landers and said: Dear Ann, please help me I am confused. I’m having an affair with two different women at the same time. And I want to get married but I don’t know which one to marry. Please advise me but don’t give me any of that morality stuff. She wrote back, dear two timer, you say that you don’t want any of that morality stuff, but that’s the only thing that separates man from the animal kingdom. Therefore I advise you to write to a veterinarian for advice.

There are two planes upon which to live. The Spiritual plane or the fleshly plane. After God or after the animals. Now no wonder man looks to the animals to find his roots. He is living like an animal. And thus he looks to the animal kingdom for his roots. But your roots are not in the animal kingdom. You are not a highly evolved animal. We have fallen from the image of God. The roots are upward. Man was made in the image of God. He’s fallen from that image. If you want to find your roots, find God. And you’ll find life and what life is all about. The life that God intended. Life on the highest plane. As we go through Romans, I pray that God will bring each of us into life in the highest plane. That life in Christ. That life in the Spirit.

May the Lord be with you and bless you. May He fill you with His Spirit. May He guide you with His counsel. And may we each one be drawn closer to Jesus Christ with each day.

Commentary on Romans 1

Whosoever Will · The Whosoever Study Bible’s verse commentary

Romans 1:1

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:2

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:3

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:4

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:5

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:6

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:7

Paul opens with the most compressed Christological statement in any of his letters: Jesus Christ is from David's seed according to the flesh and declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Thread 3 is in the seed of David: the royal trajectory arriving at its fulfillment. The resurrection is the declaration, not the making of what was not, but the public declaration of what always was. The gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures. Paul's opening move is to locate the letter in the whole canonical story, what he is about to argue is not a new development but the fulfillment of what the OT was always moving toward. The seven threads find their NT systematic statement in Romans. The mission he has received is the obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin. Thread 7 is in the all nations: the covenant promise of Genesis 12:3 (all families of the earth blessed in Abraham's seed) is now being executed through the apostolic mission. Paul is not taking the gospel to Israel's geographic neighbors. He is taking it to the ends of the earth, and Rome, capital of the known world, is on the itinerary.
The gospel promised in the prophets, concerning his Son from David's seed, declared Son of God by the resurrection: Thread 3 arrives in the opening seven verses; and the obedience of faith is for all nations, not Israel alone.
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα (ek spermatos Dauid kata sarka): of the seed of David according to the flesh: ek spermatos (out of the seed of, the physical descent); kata sarka (according to the flesh, the human nature); Paul identifies Jesus's humanity through the Davidic line before naming his divinity through the resurrection; both natures are present in the opening christological declaration · ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (hupakoēn pisteōs en pasin tois ethnesin): obedience of faith among all nations: hupakoēn pisteōs (obedience of faith, the genitive can mean obedience that consists in faith, or obedience that springs from faith; either way faith and obedience are inseparable); en pasin tois ethnesin (among all the nations, the universal scope of the apostolic mission; Thread 7's worldwide reach is Paul's stated commission
threads t2 · t3 · t7 · see Genesis 12:3 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16 · Romans 16:26

Romans 1:8

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:9

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:10

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:11

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:12

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:13

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:14

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:15

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:16

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:17

Paul identifies the thesis of Romans in verses 16-17. The gospel (which he is not ashamed of) is the dunamis of God unto salvation. Not a suggestion, not an offer conditional on human merit, not wisdom for the already wise. Power, the kind that produces what it is directed at. And it is directed at salvation for everyone who believes. Panti tō pisteuonti, to every single person who is in the state of believing. The scope is universal and the condition is faith. Ioudaiō te prōton kai Hellēni: to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The sequence honors the covenant history; the scope refuses to stop there. The righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin. From faith to faith. The whole movement of justification is faith from beginning to end: not faith plus performance, not faith as initial entry and works as continuation. Faith all the way through. And Paul grounds it in Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous person will live by faith. The emunah of Habakkuk, the steadfast covenant faithfulness that holds on through incomprehensible circumstances, is the same pistis Paul is describing in the gospel. The same quality, now directed at the specific object of Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, pas ho pisteuōn, the same universal construction as John 3:16, and the righteousness of God is revealed ek pisteōs eis pistin, from faith to faith.
δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (dunamis gar theou estin eis sōtērian panti tō pisteuonti): it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: dunamis (power, the same root as dynamite; the gospel is not information only but power); panti tō pisteuonti (to everyone who believes, panti, every, all; tō pisteuonti, present active participle, the one who is believing); the scope is genuinely universal, every person who is in the state of believing · ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pisteōs eis pistin): from faith to faith: ek (from, out of) + pisteōs (faith, the genitive); eis (into, toward) + pistin (faith, the accusative); the most contested phrase in the thesis of Romans; the best reading: righteousness that begins in faith and arrives in faith; the whole journey is faith from start to finish; not faith and works at any point · ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (ho de dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai): the just shall live by faith, Paul's quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in the LXX); the faith-chain: aman → he'emin → emunah → pistis → ek pisteōs; the righteous person (dikaios) lives (zēsetai, future, a life that continues into eternity) from/by faith (ek pisteōs, out of, sourced in faith)
threads t4 · t7 · see Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38

Romans 1:18

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:19

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:20

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:21

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:22

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:23

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:24

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:25

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:26

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:27

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:28

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:29

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:30

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:31

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27

Romans 1:32

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The diagnosis of the Gentile world is not ignorance, it is suppression. The truth is available; it is being held down. What is the truth? The eternal power and divine nature of God are clearly seen from the things that are made: the creation itself is the testimony. The Gentile who has never read a Bible has access to the knowledge of God through the created order. This is general revelation: sufficient to render inexcusable, insufficient for salvation without the specific gospel. They knew God. That is Paul's statement. Not they could have known God if they had tried harder, but they knew God. And they did not honor him as God or give thanks. The idolatry that follows is not the cause of the knowledge-failure; it is the consequence of the volitional suppression that preceded it. Three times Paul writes God gave them over (paredōken) to the consequences of the choice they made to suppress what was known. Thread 4 is in the suppression: genuine knowledge, genuinely withheld from its proper end, producing genuine consequences.
They are without excuse. The creation itself bears witness to God's eternal power and divine nature, and the suppression of that knowledge is an act of the will, not a failure of information.
διότι ἀναπολόγητοί εἰσιν (dioti anapologētoi eisin): so that they are without excuse: anapologētoi (without defense, without a valid apology, inexcusable, alpha privative + apologeomai, to defend oneself); the word that gives us apologetics used in its negated form; the Gentile world has no valid defense for its failure to honor God because the evidence is present in the creation itself · κατεχόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ (katechontōn tēn alētheian en adikia): who hold the truth in unrighteousness: katechō (to hold down, suppress, restrain); tēn alētheian (the truth); the truth is not absent, it is being suppressed; the holding down is an active volitional act; the problem is not ignorance but suppression of what is known; Thread 4 is in the active suppression
threads t4 · t5 · see Psalm 19:1-4 · Acts 14:17 · Acts 17:24-27
study these verses in the reader