Apocalypse

Romans 1:18-32

Google dictionary defines "apocalypse" as:

the complete final destruction of the world, especially as described in the biblical book of Revelation.

Wikipedia gives a more complete explanation when it says:

An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω, literally meaning "an uncovering") is a disclosure of knowledge or revelation. In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden, "a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities". [1]

In the Book of Revelation (Greek: Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου, Apokalypsis Ioannou – literally, John's Revelation), the last book of the New Testament, the revelation which John receives is that of the ultimate victory of good over evil and the end of the present age, and that is the primary meaning of the term, one that dates to 1175.[2]

Today, the term is commonly used in reference to any prophetic revelation or so-called end time scenario, or to the end of the world in general.^[1]

2 Peter 3:10-12 says:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! (2 Peter 3:10-12, ESV)

According to Peter then, there will be a final Apocalypse, a day when the world ends.  However, this actually is not the end, but a new beginning.  2 Peter 3:13 continues with this thought:

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13, ESV)

All unrighteousness and ungodliness will be done away with, thus in the new heavens and new earth there will be only righteousness.

Until that time, we live in a world full of unrighteousness and ungodliness.  According to Romans 1:18:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18, ESV)

There is a "revealing" of God's wrath that is continuously going on.  God's wrath was being revealed at the time the epistle to the Romans was written and it is being revealed today.  This revealing is the uncovering or unveiling that the word "apocalypse" refers to, and it is a portent of the great Apocalypse to come.

Romans 1:18-32 lays out for us how God's wrath is being revealed.

God's wrath is being revealed in three stages or steps.  These stages are progressive.  In other words, they build on each other, and yet at the same time, all three can be observed at any given time.  Throughout history, different cultures and different individuals have displayed these stages in various forms.  Examples of all kinds abound; from ancient Sodom, Israel and Rome to modern Europe, Syria and America we can see all the stages of the revealing of God's wrath.

The stages are as follows:

1) God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. v. 24

2) God gave them up to dishonorable passions.  v. 26

3) God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. v. 28

We are going to look at these three stages in turn.  However, we first need to consider the meaning of the phrase "God gave them up." The word used in the original language is defined as: "to hand over, to give or deliver over." 

We see an example of "giving over" in the account of the introduction of sin into the world.  God warned Adam that in the day he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die. (Genesis 2:17)  When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, God turned them over to the consequences.  Their spiritual death was immediate as forewarned, but the consequences were many and complex.  Disease, sickness, hardship, pain and various consequences have been revealed.  These consequences are progressive, but are not revealed in the same way in every person.  For example, not everyone gets cancer, but cancer exists as a consequence of sin.  Not everyone is killed in a car crash, but car crashes exist as part of the consequences of sin.  This is not to say that everyone who dies of cancer or a car crash is suffering for a specific sin.  Rather, by choosing to sin and reject God's protection, humanity opened itself up to death in all of its horrible manifestations.  The family that dies in a house fire is no better or worse than any other family.  God has turned humanity over to the consequences of the choice we made to reject Him.  I know I am saying horrible, atrocious things, but look at the world around us.  Horrible, atrocious things happen and most of them are done by people to people.  Rather than take away our freedom as responsible moral agents, God has left us free to suffer the consequences of our actions.  This handing us over or giving us up is how God progressively reveals His wrath.  He does this as a warning so that we can be turned to repentance.  He holds back His wrath, but the day of wrath will come when unrighteousness and ungodliness are done away and all the consequences of sin along with them. It will be a new day of rejoicing and freedom for those who trust in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, God's giving over or giving up of humanity to the consequences of our sin is how He reveals His wrath. 

The first giving over is explained in Romans 1:24-25.  Romans 1:24 says, "God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity."

The key concept here is the lusts of their hearts.  By letting our lusts or appetites rule us, we practice things that are termed impure.  What is worse, we become enslaved by these things.  The stronger enslavements we call addictions because as a slave, an individual has no power to say no to his or her lusts.  This enslavement and subjection to our own appetites is described in verse 25 that says:

because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:25, ESV)

The key to understanding this first stage is here in the “worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.”  Our own appetites, desires or lusts become our god. This is described for us also in Philippians 3:19 when it says, "their god is their belly." In other words, we worship and serve the little "I am" (self) instead of the Great I Am (God). 

Verse 24 shows us the consequences of this giving over in the statement, “...to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” This is referring to sexual immorality.  The inability to control our lusts shows itself in all kinds of ways but sex is where we shame ourselves.  As 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, sexual immorality is a sin against our own bodies. Sex is good and necessary, and God has carefully protected and defined its boundaries as being for a lifelong covenant relationship between a man and a woman.  It creates a "oneness" of soul that no other act or practice can duplicate.  This is why sex is so powerful, and any other use brings heartache, grief and awful consequences.  Concerning sex outside of marriage, God warns us, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?”  (Proverbs 6:27, ESV)  It may seem like we have escaped without consequence, but this is not what the Bible teaches.  Immeasurable heartache, suffering and death are in the world because of this one issue.

Because humanity does not consider the consequences of stage one and because we still refuse to honor God as God, He gives us up to stage two.  Stage two, like stage one, comes as a natural consequence of our stubborn refusal to acknowledge the truth about God.

Verse 26 defines stage two as, “God gave them up to dishonorable passions.”

The key concept here is dishonorable passions.  The word translated dishonorable is defined: “dishonor (perceived as without recognized value, worth).”  As in stage one, the "giving over" is in the passions or desires of the body, and it is also specifically related to sexual desires.  There are desires for money, food, material possession, power, control and a host of other material and immaterial things in which our desires are given over.  The passage talks about sexual desires, but we see the "giving over" in a myriad of ways.  The progress from stage one to stage two is one of a change or growth in the desires to something that is unnatural.  Verse 26 and 27 describes this change as:

For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Romans 1:26-27 ESV)

The Bible is clearly speaking of same sex attraction.  There are two mistakes we can make here.  One is to think that since we do not experience same sex attraction we are somehow free from stage two and better than those that do.  The second mistake is to think that because we experience same sex attraction we are somehow worse (or better) than those that do not. 

The Bible is clear that we are all tempted.  What is a temptation for me may not be a temptation for you.  (I have even heard of people who do not like chocolate.  I cannot imagine it but it happens.)  We are all affected by sin and suffer to some degree from the "giving over" of stage two. Temptation becomes sin when we cast off restraint and act upon our desires whether they be what others consider normal or abnormal.  The consequences of stage two, just the same as in stage one, are catastrophic for the individual as well as the community.

Romans 1:26 terms these passions as being without value or worth.  They add no value and are seen as unnatural.  The fact that we have desires that are without recognized value or worth should serve as a warning to all of us of our desperate need for God.

The third and final stage is expressed in verse 28 as:

God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

The key concept here is a debased mind.  The word translated “debased” here is defined as: “failing to pass the test, unapproved, counterfeit.”  In giving us over to a debased mind, God has turned the intellect over so that in its subjection to animal passions it has become an animal mind.  Like unthinking animals, our behavior becomes totally corrupt.  The list of verses 29 through 31 is ugly.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  (Romans 1:29-31 ESV)

While I do not wish to deny the truly wonderful things that humanity has accomplished and that people do, I have to recognize that this list reads like the world news.  This third stage is the state of humanity while God is holding back the evil that could be.  When He takes away His restraining hand, the world will pass through the great tribulation.  Seeing the evil that people perpetuate against other people should be a warning to us that God is not going to hold back the consequences of our rebellion against Him forever.  Verse 32 gives the summary of how we can see the wrath of God being uncovered when it says:

Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32 ESV)

Rather than repenting and admitting that God is right and we are wrong, we support each other in our sin.  We encourage each other, and tell each other that we are okay.  Even churches get into the act.  Denying the gospel, there are those that preach success or psychology or some other form of truth. 2 Peter 2:1-2 warns us of this when it says:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:1-2 ESV)

Even here, we see that false teaching comes from "sensuality."  This is more evidence of God "giving over" people to their sin, and this is the scariest revealing of God’s wrath.  When those entrusted with the truth of the gospel stop proclaiming the truth and warning those who are perishing, what hope does the world have?

The day of His appearing is fast approaching.  What will it take to wake us up?

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^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse (Accessed March 6, 2018)

Wrath

Romans 1:18-32

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”  (Romans 1:18 ESV)

When we think of the wrath of God, we think of great natural catastrophes, earthquakes, fires and storms.  Certainly the raging of a storm or the violence of an earthquake are terrifying in their scope and force.

However, this conception of the wrath of God is not what we see in chapter one of Romans.   Romans chapter one paints a picture of God's wrath that is different from our natural perception of what wrath looks like.  This picture of God's wrath is given to us to help us understand why we need God's righteousness as revealed in the gospel.  It helps us understand why we need salvation in the first place.  In order to help us understand, Romans 1:18-32 starts out by showing us whom God's wrath is directed against and why God's wrath is directed against them.  It also shows us what that wrath looks like, but in this article we will only consider the who and why, reserving the "what is looks like" for its own article.

Romans 1 starts out with a wonderful declaration of the good news, the gospel.  Romans 1:16 is a powerful verse as it says:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 ESV)

The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes is good news.  Salvation is a gift.  Romans 6:23 tells us, “...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God revealed His love by giving His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). However, as good as this good news is, there is a reason why it is necessary for God to provide salvation.  This is why the Apostle Paul writes what he does in Romans 1:18 and following.

Salvation is necessary because the wrath of God is being revealed.

The sense of the phrase “the wrath of God is revealed” (ESV) is that it is being revealed.  It is presently being revealed.  To reveal in this case means it is being uncovered or made clear.  This uncovering and unveiling was happening at the time Paul was writing and it continues to this day.  We can also understand from this that this unveiling of God's wrath has been a continual process since the fall and the Garden of Eden.

Romans 1:18 says that this wrath is directed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.  Men in this context is referring to all of humanity.  In other words, no one is excluded.  This also means that you and I are included.  We all are unrighteous and ungodly.  We live in an ungodly, unrighteous world, and as part of this world we all have sinned. The conclusion Paul is working toward is expressed in Romans 3:10 is:

“as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;”  (Romans 3:10 ESV)

When we talk about the wrath of God, we are tempted to think of the many evils in the world around us and think of how right the wrath of God is to be directed against those things of which we disapprove.  We all are tempted to see ourselves as superior to others.  However, Paul is not writing to make us aware of what other people are doing.  He is writing to wake us up to our own unrighteousness and ungodliness.  We must apply these words to ourselves and avoid the temptation to apply these words to other people. Romans 2:1 points this out when it says:

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” (Romans 2:1 ESV)

Again, let me remind us that when the text says, “You have no excuse, O man...”, it is referring to everyone.  It could say, “O person.”  Ladies, I apologize for referring to you as “O man,” but that is just the way people used to talk.  The author’s purpose is not to single out a certain group of people, rather he is pointing out the human condition.  In other words, what he is saying is true of every person, and all of humanity. 

Salvation is necessary because everyone is under God’s wrath without exception.  The “power of God to salvation” (the Gospel) is needed by everyone.

When Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,” it gives the reason why God’s wrath is revealed.

His wrath is against ungodliness and unrighteousness, and it is against these because by their unrighteousness they suppress the truth. 

So, what truth do they suppress?  The truth they suppress is the truth about God.  Verse 19 starts out, “ For what can be known about God is plain to them.” Therefore, we see that the truth we are talking about concerns what can be known about God. Verse 20 expands on this by saying that His role as creator is denied.  Then verse 20 speaks of the fact that they take it a step further and refuse to honor Him as God.  It goes even further in saying that they replace God with idols.  This is the very definition of ungodliness.  They remove God from His creation, and then replace Him with idols.

Please notice with me that Romans 1:18 does not say they suppress the truth by their ungodliness.  It is their unrighteousness that suppresses the truth.  Their ungodliness is the result of the suppression of the truth.  Ungodliness can be defined as being without God.  The problem of suppressing the truth by unrighteousness is seen in the absence of God in our lives.

Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, ESV)  In this statement, He declares Himself to be the truth.  Without God, there is no truth.  If we reject God, we can say with Pilate, "What is truth?" For example, if we are the result of random chance and accident shaping us over time, how can we trust our intellects as these also are the results of chance and circumstances?  The argument presented here would take its own book to develop fully, but the point is that apart from God we can have no confidence in what truth is.

In Romans 1:18-32, the truth about God is said to be clear.  Verse 19 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them.”  The problem with believing in God is not a problem of logic or intellect.  It is a problem of the heart.

From the time of the Garden of Eden to the present, this has shown itself to be true.  In Genesis 3, when the man and the woman ate the fruit, they knew that they were naked and hid from God, sowing fig leaves together to hide their shame.  Since that time, we all hide from the truth, suppress the truth, lie and equivocate to avoid the truth.  Because of this we deceive ourselves.  The problem of believing in God has never been a problem of evidence, logic or reason.  It has always been and always will be a problem of the heart and of the will.

Because of our refusal to accept the truth, we are subject to ever worsening deceit.  The Holy Spirt, working through the Church, holds back the evil and continues to proclaim the truth.  2 Thessalonians warns of a day when this restraint is removed, when deceit will have its way.  Then it says:

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10, ESV)

The perishing will suffer ever worse deception as they refuse to love the truth.  This is also the truth pointed out by Jesus in John 3:19 and following where he says:

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20 ESV)

This is the natural result of unrighteousness, and we all have the same problem.  Our unrighteousness results in ungodliness.  The results of ungodliness are expressed in verse 21 of Romans 1 as:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him...

This is the “why” of the wrath of God, ungodliness that results in not honoring Him as God and in a lack of gratitude.

The picture painted in Romans 1:18-32 is one of a willing, rebellious and obstinate refusal to acknowledge that which is obvious, the power and presence of God in all that He has created.

It is this rebellion that makes the “power of God to Salvation” necessary.  God unveils or reveals His wrath to lead us to repentance.  Jesus is coming again, and when He does it will be a day of wrath for those who are perishing.  However, God holds back because He desires everyone to come to repentance.  2 Peter 3: says:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, ESV)

The good news is good because there is bad news.  The bad news is that the wrath of God is as certain as the good news.  By faith, anyone can ask God to be saved, and He will save that person who trusts in Jesus.

Our Obligation

Romans 1:14-15

Romans 1:14-15 says:

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.  (Romans 1:14-15)

The world is divided between us and them.  

Divisions run deep.  Liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, labels usually suffice to define the lines of division.

Historically, us-and-them divisions have cost millions upon millions of lives.  World War II is my first example.  In Europe, the Aryan race sought its rightful place over the rest of the world.  In Asia, the superior Japanese race claimed its right of sovereignty.  The us-and-them identity was strong on both sides of the conflict.

These divisions are necessary and even crucial at times.  For the Christian confronted with all the divisions, conflicts and loud boasting of the world, it can be a challenge to know what the “Christian” thing to do is.  Without going into the subject any further, I would like to give a brief answer.  Micah 6:8 says:

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 ESV)

The way governments and individuals behave is different.  We are not to take vengeance into our own hands, but Romans 13:1-4 clearly teaches that the governing authorities exist to punish the wrongdoer.

It is not my purpose to get involved in the morality of the divisions.  The Aryan supremacists and the Japanese had to be stopped.  Oppressive regimes and unspeakable evils continue in our world, and governments and nations are God’s instruments to deal with these things.

What I want to speak about today is a different aspect and responsibility and how it interacts with us and the divisions among us.  My point in bringing up the horrible examples is that the divisions run deep, they are real and they are significant.  The divisions are not trivial.  The divisions we are talking about are between Muslim and Jew, or black and white, and liberal and conservative.

In opening his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul brings up the divisions that exist among us, and his attitude toward these divisions.

In verse 14, he points out two different divisions.  First, he brings up the division between Greek and Barbarian.  Second, he brings up the division between wise and foolish.

The first division he brings up is between Greek and Barbarian.  The Greeks called everyone who was non-Greek “Barbarian.”  The word “Barbarian” comes from a word meaning “unintelligible speech.”  It actually mimicked the “bar-bar” sound of unknown words.  

As a division, this is sometimes one of the most difficult to overcome. Nations can be divided by natural obstacles such as mountains and oceans.  In addition, the division of language is no small thing.  It can be very difficult to make oneself understood without the benefit of a common language.  

Unified humanity was divided by the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel, and it remains divided by the same to this day.  This division can be very costly to overcome.  Traveling across oceans or through mountain ranges used to be a matter of months with great risks and costs involved.  Today, it is trivial in comparison, but it is still costly.  And this says nothing about the cost in time and effort to learn a new language.  The accepted standard is that it takes 10,000 hours of study to become fluent in a second language.  Given this number, let’s say you decide to study a second language every single day for an hour.  It should take you just over 27 years to become expert or fluent, if you don’t miss any days.  This is why total immersion programs where a person uses the language 16 hours a day by living among people using the language still require about two years to achieve true fluency.

Paul’s point in saying he is obligated to both to Greeks and Barbarians is to say that no matter the obstacle, he is obligated, duty bound to preach the gospel.  His obligation is universal in scope.  These national, physical and practical barriers do not lessen or limit his obligation.

He then brings further emphasis and refinement to the lack of limits of his obligation by stating the second division between the wise and the foolish.  National and language barriers are physical, imposed from outside.  However, education, social standing and societally imposed barriers are self-imposed and internal in nature.  Paul points out that these barriers also do not lessen or limit his obligation.

Peter provides an example of this kind of barrier.  In Acts 10, a centurion named Cornelius was introduced to Jesus Christ, and Peter was God’s chosen instrument to make the introduction.  However, Peter was a Jew and Cornelius was a Gentile.  Jews did not go into Gentile homes.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit had to overcome the objections of Peter’s upbringing and background.  Peter had to overcome years of training and conditioning.  God used a vision to accomplish this.  In the vision, Peter was told to eat from a selection of all the things that he was not allowed to eat as a Jew. 

Food conditioning is hard to overcome.  The thought of putting something gross in our mouths can cause many of us to gag. Quite literally the thought of eating the things presented to him could have made Peter feel like throwing up.  Our social conditioning and background provide just this kind of obstacle to interacting with people different from ourselves.  Fear and mistrust can be obstacles to open communication and dialogue.

This is the second type of obstacle that Paul points out.  It is internal and conditioned.

Paul says he is obligated or indebted to everyone.  He points out the obstacles that divide us both externally and internally and sweeps them away by saying his obligation is not lessened due to these things. 

He had started out telling them how much he longed to travel to Rome, and then finishes by telling them how eager he is to preach the gospel to them in Rome.  Behind all the longing and eagerness is his obligation.  It is his obligation that explains his eagerness.

The first thing that we have learned then about all of the “us and them” in the world is that these divisions do not lessen or diminish our obligation.

However, this brings us to the questions:  1) What is the obligation Paul is under?  And, 2) Why is he under this obligation?

As a result of his obligation, he is eager to preach the gospel.  Therefore, we can assume that his obligation is related to the gospel.  

In order to understand his obligation, we must first understand the gospel.  The entire book of Romans was written to explain the gospel.  For this reason, we can only give a summary here of the most basic truths of the gospel.

The first truth of the gospel is God.  The gospel starts with God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is creator of all things.  Romans 1:18 states that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth.  Men (and women) deny the truth about God.  We will look at this more in-depth when we look at Romans 1:18 and following.  However, the truth about God has much to do with Paul’s, and consequentially our, indebtedness.

First, because He is our creator, sustainer, provider and protector, we are commanded to love Him.  Every human being ever born has a moral obligation to love his or her maker.  Why?  Simply because He requires it of us and since He made us, He has that right and authority.  Second, and similar, He also requires that we love our neighbor as ourselves. Basically then, because God has set these two rules in place, we owe a debt of love to our fellow human beings no matter who or what they are.

An inadequate understanding of who God is and the importance of loving our neighbor are shown in a lack of evangelistic commitment.  1 John 4:20 tells us:

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”  (1 John 4:20 ESV)

Having a duty to love my neighbor as myself may move me, but not impassion my heart.  However, the gospel moves our hearts.  In summarizing the gospel Jesus said:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16 ESV)

The Bible makes it clear, we understand what love is because while we were sinners and enemies of God, He gave His only begotten Son to die for us.  Jesus taught that the one who is forgiven much loves much.  When we understand the extent of our sin and the price God was willing to pay to redeem us, then our hearts are moved. Then, the passions are moved so that the obligation to preach the gospel translates into an eagerness and a longing to share Jesus with people. Paul said:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; (2 Corinthians 5:14 ESV)

The love of Christ is the obligating factor.  It is what caused Paul to be eager to preach the gospel to those who were in Rome, and it is what creates in us the same eagerness to share the gospel no matter what the cost.

It is this love that moves us to reach across the us-and-them barriers that divide us.  This love is what moved Paul to share Christ with the soldiers that guarded him, the Jews that persecuted him and the governors who imprisoned him. 

Along with the love that compels us, Jesus left us with a mission.  He gave us a job to do. We all know His words, but I am going to give them to us as a reminder.  He said:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

How have we let us-and-them divisions distract us from our obligation?  

Righteousness and Faith

Romans 1:8-17

Faith is essential to the Christian life.  As we are the people of God, we partake of the righteousness of God by faith.  First, we are known for our faith.  

Paul opens his letter to the Church in Rome with the necessary salutation, introducing himself as the author, the gospel as his subject and the Romans as his intended audience.  He then says, "First...”  He is excited to be writing to the Romans.  He says, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”  (Romans 1:8, ESV)  He thanks God for people he has never met. 

He expresses his great thankfulness to God because their faith was proclaimed in all the world.

Exceptional things are noticed throughout the whole world.  Of course, this does not mean literally the entire world, because Paul had no way of knowing what was happening in America.  However, traveling extensively in the Roman Empire, Paul had firsthand knowledge of how far word of the faith of the Roman Christians had spread.  The world notices true faith.  True faith causes people to behave in exceptional ways.

Jesus told us, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  (John 14:15, ESV)  I would add to this that if we do not believe in Jesus we cannot love Him.  If we do not trust Him, we cannot love Him.  Therefore, if we have no faith in Him, we cannot love Him.  James tells us in chapter 2 verse 18 of his book, "But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”  Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."  (ESV)

Paul commended the Thessalonian Church, saying in 1 Thessalonians 1:8, "...your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything."

Faith transforms us, and the difference is noticeable.  Word of the transformation spreads.  In the case of the Roman Christians, this was cause for great thankfulness on the part of the Apostle Paul.

What about our faith, yours and mine?  Is our faith cause for great thankfulness for our Lord Jesus Christ? 

Jesus said:

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  (Luke 9:26, ESV)

He repeated this concept in Luke 12:8-9 saying:

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  (Luke 12:8-9, ESV)

Is our faith cause for great thankfulness?  Before the Apostle ever went to Rome, the faith of the Romans was cause for great thankfulness.

After expressing his great thankfulness, the Apostle Paul expresses his great longing.

His longing, like his gratitude, is linked to faith.  However, his longing is based on the encouragement he and they might be to each other's faith.  He says:

that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.  (Romans 1:12, ESV)

Paul expresses his desire to see them and to enjoy this mutual encouragement in the strongest terms.  He says that God is his witness how unceasingly he pleads for the chance to go to Rome.  Think of this in terms of what Paul has told us in other places about his life's purpose.  In Philippians 3:7-10, Paul expresses his pursuit in life.  He says:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (Philippians 3:7-10, ESV)

His longing to travel to Rome was tied to his longing to know Christ.  This longing showed itself in two separate but linked goals.  His first goal was to strengthen the believers in Rome by imparting some spiritual gift to them and the second was to reap some harvest among the Romans as he had among the rest of the Gentiles.  

As an Apostle, Paul had a unique and special calling.  Therefore, he was uniquely obligated to strengthen and encourage believers and to preach to those who did not yet know the gospel.  This obligation is reflected in his words to the Romans expressing his strong desire to reap some harvest among them.

Later, when Paul actually arrived in Rome, he immediately called together a meeting of the local leaders of the Jews and began sharing the gospel with them (Acts 28:17ff).  After spending some time imprisoned in Rome, Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.  (Philippians 1:12-13, ESV)

Paul's travels, whether as a prisoner or as a missionary, resulted in the strengthening of believers and in the advancement of the gospel among all peoples.  Sadly, there were those whose travels had the opposite effect.  Paul warns about them in his letters, describing them as enemies of the cross (For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Philippians 3:18).

Do our travels result in the advancement of the gospel?

The difference between Paul and the enemies of the cross of Christ is to be found in their longings.  Paul's great longing grew out of faith and a desire to know Christ.  Philippians 3:19 tells us that the god of the enemies of the cross of Christ is their belly.  Their desires are not shaped by faith.  Just as Jesus told us we would know a tree by its fruit, so we know a person's faith by his or her fruit. 

What is your great longing?  What passion shapes your life?

Faith is the theme as Paul expresses both his great thankfulness and his great longing, and it continues to be the theme as he expresses his great confidence.

The Apostle Paul states plainly, "I am not ashamed." 

If a person puts their confidence in the wrong thing, he or she can suffer embarrassment.  My fellow believers who believe that the rapture will take place after the tribulation will suffer minor embarrassment when we meet Jesus in the air.  However, it will be something to laugh about.  Those who are not caught up to meet Jesus in the air are the ones who will suffer true embarrassment.

As an example of embarrassment, consider what it would mean if the gospel was a hoax and there was no truth to it.  All the churches and schools would have been built for nothing.  All the missionaries would have been sent for nothing.  All the martyrs would have died for nothing.  All the books would have been written for nothing.  Paul said:

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  ... we are of all people most to be pitied.  (1 Corinthians 15:14, 19, ESV)

This is the kind of shame that Paul is speaking of.  He is saying he is not ashamed, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation.

In his opening remarks, he stated what the gospel is.  It is the good news of Jesus Christ.  According to the flesh, he was born of the line of David, a Jew from the line of Judah.  He was shown to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection from the dead.  It is by believing in His name that we are saved.  

It is important that we realize that we are not following cleverly devised fables when we state these things.  Peter stressed this when he says:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  (2 Peter 1:16, ESV)

The writers of Scripture appeal to facts to establish the reality of their claims.  1 Corinthians 15:6 is a strong example of a writer appealing to verifiable events in order to defend or strengthen his claims.  1 Corinthians 15:6 says:

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  (1 Corinthians 15:6, ESV)

Here we have a case where if anyone wanted to verify the claims of the writer, all a person would have to do would be to go ask the eyewitnesses.  Of course, those eyewitnesses have long since passed away, but at the time of writing, they were still alive.  We can still be sure we have not followed cleverly devised fables.  We have the testimony of eyewitnesses.  We have the testimony of history and we have the testimony of those who have tested the truth of the gospel.

We have seen that faith transforms a person.  Faith that transforms is what resulted in Paul's great thankfulness.  We have seen faith that motivates.  Faith that motivates is what resulted in Paul's great longing.

Faith also results in confidence.  This does not mean a numbing of the mind.  Romans 1:17 tells us that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.  This is a significant saying that is full of meaning.  One of the meanings that can be gleaned from this statement is that faith results in more faith.  James 1:3 tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance.  Part of this is because the testing of our faith strengthens our faith.  We find that our faith is reliable, that the truths we have built our lives around will not embarrass us.  We have no reason to be ashamed of the gospel.

In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed.   

We are not justified by works of righteousness that we have done.  We are justified freely by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  However, faith reveals itself in our right relationship to God.  James tells us that the devils believe in God and tremble, but obviously, they are not partakers in the righteousness of God.  The righteous person lives by faith, trusting in God so that his or her life results in praise to God, desire for God and confidence in God.  

Faith and righteousness are tied together so that the righteous person’s life is one of faith from first to last.