Study of ROMANS 3:1-4

Romans Chapter 3

Read Romans 3:1-4
Verse 1. What advantage, etc. The design of the first part of this chapter is to answer some of the objections which might be offered by a Jew to the statements in the last chapter. The first objection is stated in this verse. A Jew would naturally ask, if the view which the apostle had given were correct, what peculiar benefit could the Jew derive from his religion? The objection would arise particularly from the position advanced, (Romans 2:25,26) that if a heathen should do the things required by the law, he would be treated as if he had been circumcised. Hence the question, "What profit is there of circumcision?"

Verse 2. Much every way. Or, in every respect. This is the answer of the apostle to the objection in Romans 3:1.

Chiefly. That is, this is the principal advantage, and one including all others. The main benefit of being a Jew is to possess the sacred Scriptures, and their instructions.

Unto them were committed. Or were entrusted, were confided. The word translated "were committed," is that which is commonly employed to express faith or confidence, and it implied confidence in them on the part of God in entrusting his oracles to them; a confidence which was not misplaced, for no people ever guarded a sacred trust or deposit with more fidelity, than the Jews did the sacred Scriptures.

The oracles. The word oracle among the heathen meant, properly, the answer or response of a god, or of some priest supposed to be inspired, to an inquiry of importance, usually expressed in a brief, sententious way, and often with great ambiguity. The place from which such a response was usually obtained was also called an oracle, as the oracle at Delphi, etc. These oracles were frequent among the heathen, and affairs of great importance were usually submitted to them. The word rendered oracles occurs in the New Testament but four times, Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; 1 Peter 4:11; Romans 3:2. It is evidently here used to denote the Scriptures, as being that which was spoken by God, and particularly perhaps the Divine promises. To possess these was, of course, an eminent privilege, and included all others, as they instructed them in their duty, and were their guide in everything that pertained to them in this life and the life to come. They contained, besides, many precious promises respecting the future dignity of the nation ill reference to the Messiah. No higher favour can be conferred on a people than to be put in possession of the sacred Scriptures. And this fact should excite us to gratitude, and lead us to endeavour to extend them also to other nations. Comp. Deuteronomy 4:7,8; Psalms 147:19,20.

Verse 3. For what if some did not believe? This is to be regarded as another objection of a Jew. "What then? or what follows? if it be admitted that some of the nation did not believe, does it not fallow that the faithfulness of God in his promises will fail?" The points of the objection are these:

(1.) The apostle had maintained that the nation was sinful, (chapter 2;) that is, that they had not obeyed or believed God.

(2.) This the objector for the time admits, or supposes, in relation to some of them. But

(3) he asks whether this does not involve a consequence which is not admissible, that God is unfaithful. Did not the fact that God chose them as his people, and entered into covenant with them, imply that the Jews should be kept from perdition? It was evidently their belief that all Jews would be saved--and this belief they grounded on his covenant with their fathers. The doctrine of the apostle (chapter 2) would seem to imply that, in certain respects, they were on a level with the Gentile nations; that ff they sinned, they would be treated just like the heathen; and hence they asked of what value was the promise of God ? Had it not become vain and nugatory?

Make the faith. The word faith here evidently means the faithfulness or fidelity of God to his promises. Comp. Matthew 23:23; 2 Timothy 3:10; Hosea 2:20.

Without effect. Destroy it; or prevent him from fulfilling his promises. The meaning of the objection is, that the fact supposed, that the Jews would become unfaithful and be lost, would imply that God had failed to keep his promises to the nation; or that he had made promises which the result showed he was not able to perform.

{n} "some did not believe" Romans 10:16; Hebrews 4:2

Verse 4. God forbid. Greek, Let not this be. The sense is, Let not this by any means be supposed. This is the answer of the apostle, showing that no such consequence followed from his doctrines; and that if any such consequence should follow, the doctrine should be at once abandoned, and that every man, no matter who, should be rather esteemed false than God. The veracity of God was a great first principle, which was to be held, whatever might be the consequence. This implies that the apostle believed that the fidelity of God could be maintained in strict consistency with the fact that any number of the Jews might be found to be unfaithful, and be cast off. The apostle has not entered into an explanation of this, or shown how it could be; but it is not difficult to understand how it was. The promise made to Abraham, and the fathers, was not unconditional and absolute, that all the Jews should be saved. It was implied that they were to be obedient; and that if they were not, they would be cast off, Genesis 18:19. Though the apostle has not stated it here, yet he has considered it at length in another part of this epistle, and showed that it was not only consistent with the original promise that a part of the Jews should be found unfaithful, and be cast off, but that it had actually occurred according to the prophets, Romans 10:16-21;; 11:1. Thus the fidelity of God was preserved; at the same time that it was a matter of fact that no small part of the nation was rejected and lost.

Let God be true. Let God be esteemed true and faithful, whatever consequence may follow. This was a first principle, and should be now, that God should be believed to be a God of truth, whatever consequence it might involve. How happy would it be, if all men would regard this as a fixed principle, a matter not to be questioned in their hearts, or debated about, that God is true to his word! How much doubt and anxiety would it save professing Christians; and how much error would it save among sinners! Amidst all the agitations of the world, all conflicts, debates, and trials, it would be a fixed position, where every man might find rest, and which would do more than all other things to allay the tempests, and smooth the agitated waves of human life.

But every man a liar. Though every man and every other opinion should be found to be false. Of course this included the apostle and his reasoning; and the expression is one of those which show his magnanimity and greatness of soul. It implies that every opinion which he and all others held--every doctrine which had been defended, should be at once abandoned, if it implied that God was false. It was to be assumed as a first principle in all religion and all reasoning, that if a doctrine implied that God was not faithful, it was of course a false doctrine. This showed his firm conviction that the doctrine which he advanced was strictly in accordance with the veracity of the Divine promise. What a noble principle is this! How strikingly illustrative of the humility of true piety, and of the confidence which true piety places in God above all the deductions of human reason! And if all men were willing to sacrifice their opinions when they appeared to impinge on the veracity of God; if they started back with instinctive shuddering at the very supposition of such a want of fidelity in him, how soon would it put an end to the boastings of error, to the pride of philosophy, to lofty dictation in religion! No man with this feeling could be for a moment a Universalist; and none could be an infidel.

As it is written. Psalms 51:4. To confirm the sentiment which he had just advanced, and to show that it accorded with the spirit of religion as expressed in the Jewish writings, the apostle appeals to the language of David, uttered in a state of deep penitence for past transgressions. Of all quotations ever made, this is one of the most beautiful and most happy. David was overwhelmed with grief; he saw his crime to be awful; he feared the displeasure of God, and trembled before him. Yet he held it as a fixed, indisputable principle, that GOD WAS RIGHT. This he never once thought of calling in question. He had sinned against God, God only; and he did not once think of calling in question the fact that God was just altogether in reproving him for his sin, and in pronouncing against him the sentence of condemnation.

That thou mightest be justified. That thou mightest be regarded as just or right; or, that it may appear that God is not unjust. This does not mean that David had sinned against God for the purpose of justifying him, but that he now clearly saw that his sin had been so directly against him, and so aggravated, that God was right in his sentence of condemnation.

In thy sayings. In what thou hast spoken; that is, in thy sentence of condemnation; in thy words in relation to this offence. It may help us to understand this, to remember that the psalm was written immediately after Nathan, at the command of God, had gone to reprove David for his crime. (See the title of the psalm.) God, by the mouth of Nathan, had expressly condemned David for his crime. To this expression of condemnation David doubtless refers by the expression "in thy sayings." See 2 Samuel 12:7-13.

And mightest overcome. In the Hebrew, "mightest be pure," or mightest be esteemed pure, or just. The word which the Seventy and the apostle have used, "mightest overcome," is sometimes used with reference to litigations or trials in a court of justice. He that was accused and acquitted, or who was adjudged to be innocent, might be said to overcome, or to gain the cause. The expression is thus used here. As if there were a trial between David and God, God would overcome; that is, would be esteemed pure and righteous in his sentence condemning the crime of David.

When thou art judged. The Hebrew is, when thou judgest; that is, in thy judgment pronounced on this crime. The Greek may also be in the middle voice as well as the passive, and may correspond, therefore, in meaning precisely with the Hebrew. So the Arabic renders it. The Syriac renders it, "when they (that is, men) shall judge thee." The meaning, as expressed by David, is, that God is to be esteemed right and just in condemning men for their sins, and that a true penitent, that is, a man placed in the best circumstances to form a proper estimate of God, will see this, though it should condemn himself. The meaning of the expression in the connexion in which Paul uses it is, that it is to be held as a fixed, unwavering principle, that God is right and true, whatever consequences it may involve, whatever doctrine it may overthrow, or whatever man it may prove to be a liar.

Study of ROMANS 2:17-29

17 But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the Law, and gloriest in God, 18 and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the Law; 19 and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the Law the form of knowledge and of the truth: 21 thou therefore teaching another! art thou not teaching thyself? thou, preaching not to steal—dost thou steal? 22 thou, saying not to commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou, holding idols in abhorrence, art thou a temple-robber? 23 thou, who art glorying in the Law, through thy own transgression of the Law, art thou dishonoring God?24 For the name of God through you [Jews] is being blasphemed among the Gentiles, even as it is written! 25 For circumcision indeed does profit, if thou art a law-keeper: but if thou art a transgressor of law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision.26 If therefore the uncircumcision be observing the moral requirements of the Law, shall not the uncircumcision of such a one be reckoned for circumcision? 27 and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it keep the Law, rise up in judgment against thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of law? 28 For he is not a Jew, who is one in appearance: neither is that circumcision which is in appearance, in the flesh! 29 But on the contrary, he is a Jew who is one in secret; and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter; whose praise is not from men, but on the contrary, from God!

In the above verses Paul directly addresses the Jew. He shows that the Jew “rested” on The Law,—on having it; and was proud that the will of the true God had been revealed to him; that he “knew” that will, and was therefore able to “approve the things that are excellent.” He developed a confidence in himself as a guide, a light, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher, because in the law he had “the form of knowledge and of the truth.” But did he apply it to himself,—his teaching, his preaching, his saying what folks should be, his abhorring idols, his glorying in The Law? Nay! the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the selfishness, the pride, the covetousness, the general wickedness of the Jew!
Paul goes on to declare that Jewish circumcision, which was the mark of that nation’s separation to God, was good only if one were thus really separated to God, but that if not, the Jew was really an uncircumcised one; that he was excelled instead, and “judged,” by those who, wholly outside circumcision, feared and walked with God. Paul finally declares that a man is not a Jew who is merely one outwardly, and that God does not regard mere outward circumcision: that the only Jew in God’s sight is an “Israelite indeed,” like Nathaniel, sincere and without guile; and that circumcision is a heart matter, in the real spirit of separation to God and regard for Him. (See the same phrase by which God describes a real Jew [en tō krupto] in Matt. 6:3, 6, etc.)
So much for the Jew who was the “religious” man, when Paul wrote Romans. But the “religious” man today is the “professing Christian,” and “church-membership” as they call it, has taken the place, in the thought of Christendom, of the Jew’s consciousness of belonging to the favored Israelitish race.
If we should thus apply this passage (17-29), must it not read something like this?—“If thou bearest the name of a Christian, and restest on having the gospel, and gloriest in God, and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the gospel; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, having in the gospel the form of knowledge and of the truth”—Then would follow the searching questions of verses 21 and 22; for do we not know teachers that teach others, but refuse to follow their own teaching? And preachers that denounce stealing, but are accused by the world of being themselves money-grabbers?47 So it would read, “Thou who gloriest in the gospel, through thy disobedience to the gospel, dishonorest thou God? The name of God is blasphemed among non ‘church-members’48 because of you! Church-membership49 indeed profiteth if thou be an obeyer of the gospel; but if thou be a refuser of a gospel-walk, thy ‘church-membership’ is become non ‘church-membership.’ If therefore a non ‘church-member’ obey the gospel, shall not his non ‘church-membership’ be reckoned for ‘church-membership’ ? And shall not non ‘church-members,’ if they obey the gospel, judge thee, who with the letter and ‘church-membership’ art a refuser of a gospel-walk? For he is not a Christian who is one outwardly, nor is that ‘church-membership’ which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian who is one inwardly; and ‘church-membership’ is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Now before we proceed, remember yet once again, that God’s great announcement of these principles of His throne is given to awaken men out of their false hopes about themselves, unto the truth about themselves; and is to be regarded as a description of God’s judgment, as it must be—in order that men may be aroused, and not refuse His truth. But do not confuse Romans Two with Revelation Twenty! At the Judgment Day there will be no such preaching and reasoning with men as Paul here is doing, but damnation only—“according to their works—the things written in the books.” O sinner, if God’s rebukes are still coming to thee, there is sweet hope for thee! There will be no rebukes in that Great Day: but “visitation” only!

Study of ROMANS 2:1-16

The Great Principles according to which God’s Judgment of Human Action Must Proceed.
1. Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man,—any one judging [others]: for in the very matter in which thou judgest the other man, thou art giving judgment against thy very self: tor the same things thou art practising,—thou who art judging!
WE HAVE TRACED the awful history of the human race in iniquity and idolatry, especially since the Flood, and have seen that fearful indictment of above twenty counts which ends Chapter One.
We now enter upon the greatest passage in all Scripture as to the principles and processes of God in His estimate, or judgment, concerning His creatures. If God is “Judge of all,” and if the whole world is to be “brought under the judgment of God” (Rom. 3:19), God will surely take pains to make known the great principles of His action, so that men may know beforehand how He will decide and act. Otherwise, men would “imagine vain things” about the true God, and hug their delusions to their own damnation.
The personal character of God’s relations toward men, either in the matter of salvation or of damnation, is rapidly being forgotten by this generation. Yet, if God be God, He must be the Judge of All. Back of the whole revelation of His works and ways, in His Word, is God Himself. And it is only the fool that saith in his heart, “No God.” Mark that it is in his heart, his desires, that he speaks; and not in his reason or judgment!
God created man “in His own image.” Since we are persons,—so is God. Since we have personal feelings,—so has God.
Now every creature stands in relation to God according to what God is. God cannot change. Daniel Webster, in answer to the question: “What is the greatest thought that ever entered your mind?” said, at once, “My responsibility to my Maker!” You must meet God, and that as He is, not as you might wish Him to be. If you have Christ, you have already met Him! If you have not Christ, you have still to face God in His infinite holiness, and that arrayed against you, at the Judgment Day.
Now this second chapter of Romans deals with those who do not believe that the awful things of the first chapter mean themselves. Consequently, we find two sets of such self-appointed “judges” of others34 in Chapter Two:
First, Those who discountenance the “openly bad” of humanity, considering themselves “better”—because of race, civilization, environment, education, or culture; and,
Second, Those who discountenance the bad, thinking themselves “better,” because of their religion,—the possession of the Divine oracles: these, of course, were, in Paul’s day, the Jews (2.17).
Concerning the first class, the “respectable” sinners, who esteem themselves “better,” God lays down six great principles of His estimate or judgment of men; and adds a seventh concerning the second class, the “religious” sinners; of whom God declares that the world itself despises inconsistency between practice and religious profession.
Now just because the history of our race has been so black, as shown in Chapter One (“God gave them up—God gave them up—God gave them up—”), we who read the record are ourselves in peculiar danger, for the doors into the death-chamber of self-righteousness so easily open to us! We readily fall into the delusion that God is speaking in this chapter concerning heathen idolaters, who finally descended to worshiping “creeping things,”—and that He cannot be speaking to us!
But will you remember that God comes quickly, through this sad history, to man’s settled state. For at the end of the history, the announcement concerning men is, “being filled with all unrighteousness!” By and by God will announce that there is ‘no distinction” as to sinners, and will publish the fact that there is but one way of salvation for all men alike,—and that through the shed blood of a Redeemer. But here, as we have above said, God is heading off from escape first the proud “judges” of others, of every sort,—the moralists, and moral philosophers, all the “moral” folks,—the “whosoevers” that “judge”; and, second, those who would escape the consciousness of guilt and judgment by running under a “religious” roof— whether a Jewish shelter, as in Paul’s day, or a “Christian” one, in our day.
SEVEN GREAT PRINCIPLES OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
1. God’s judgment is “according to truth” (verse 2).
2. According to accumulated guilt (verse 5).
3. According to works (verse 6).
4. Without respect of persons (verse 11).
5. According to performance, not knowledge (verse 13).
6. God’s judgment reaches the secrets of the heart (verse 16).
7. According to reality, not religious profession (verses 17-29).
ACCORDING TO TRUTH,—NOT HUMAN IMAGININGS
Verse two of this chapter describes the first principle of God’s judgment: it is “according to truth”:
2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practice such things. 3 And dost thou reckon this, O man, judging them that practice such things, and thyself doing the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or dost thou even despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God is meant to lead thee to repentance?
First, then, the judgment of God is “according to truth.” Every man is naturally blind to his own state and sins. Not unless mightily convinced by the Holy Ghost, can any man imagine God’s dealing in justice with him! The third verse brings this out. Godet (though seeking to confine this passage to the Jews) strikingly renders it: “Dost thou reason that thou wouldst escape,—thou?35 A being by thyself? A privileged person?” And he adds, “The Greek word here used (logid-zomai—to reason) well describes the false calculations whereby the Jews persuaded themselves that they would escape the judgment wherewith God would visit the Gentiles.”
But Paul does not begin with the Jews as a class until verse 17. Here in the first part of the chapter he is seeking to arouse all men from that sense of security arising from self-love and self-flattery.36 We must apply these searching sentences to all “respectable” persons, to all those who, being themselves impenitent, yet “judge” others.
God sees the facts, nay, the motives behind the facts, of the life of every creature. Of course, this whole second chapter, and the first part of the third, is meant by God, whose name is Love, to drive us out of our false notions of Himself and His judicial procedure, into the arms of our Redeemer, Christ; who has borne wrath, the wrath of God, as our Substitute. But whether you are brought to flee to Christ or not, you must face the facts: God is a God of judgment, and a God of truth. See how He “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up.” It is not because God loves to judge and condemn, for He definitely says judgment is “His strange work” (Isa. 28:21). Nevertheless, He must judge, and it must be “according to truth,” according to the facts, the realities which are, of course, known to Him. He needs no “jury” to decide any case. He is Himself Witness, Jury and Judge.
Now, in the next two verses (3 and 4), we see God dealing with the accursed folly of the deceitful heart of man, who dreams that by merely judging others (though he practices the same things), he shall escape God’s judgment. Some one says, “We hate our own faults when we see them in others.” But this state goes beyond even that, for it puts God right off His throne, and makes Him connive with a guilty sinner, just because, forsooth, this sinner discerns clearly and decries loudly the sins of others,—while committing the same himself.
Furthermore, such a “judge” of others becomes, in his self-confident importance, blind to God’s constant mercy toward himself—not feeling the need of it; and in his self righteous blindness knows not that the “goodness” of God is meant to lead him to personal repentance instead of to judgment of his fellows.37
Note the degrees or stages, also, of God’s kindness during the earth-life of such a man: First, it is God’s “goodness,” in daily preserving him, providing for him, and protecting him. Second, Divine goodness being despised by him, God’s “forebearance” is exercised,—God does not smite instantly the proud ingrate, but goes on in goodness toward him, withholding wrath even at times when disease, danger, or death threaten all about him. Third, all God’s goodness and forbearance being despised, God’s “long-suffering” keeps waiting, even over “vessels of wrath” (see 9:22).
ACCORDING TO ACCUMULATED GUILT
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God—
We have here the second principle, the cumulative character of continued impenitence. This shows how the hardened and impenitent sinner “lays up” during a prosperous earth-life constant “treasures” of wrath,38 which will be revealed at the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20, when all the evil works of the lost will be shown in all their ramifications and evil influences, and effects upon others, as well as in the fearful personal guilt of hardness and impenitence against God’s mercy. Not until the last evil result of a life of sin has been marked and weighed, can the final reward of the sinner be shown,—as all will be shown in that “Day.” This is the outlook, probably, with most people we meet! How dread and awful that outlook for the sinner who has taken God’s earthly gifts and blessings as a matter of course,—no brokenness of heart or contrition toward God! Nay, not even thankfulness! “Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease” (Ezek. 16:49, 50). And our Lord, in speaking of the utter carnal security of the Sodomites, says, “They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all; after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:28-30).
So they are today, in these last days: “Treasuring up unto themselves wrath” for that fearful “day of wrath.”
Remember, if the goodness of God toward you is not leading you to repentance, then every day, every hour, you live, drops another drop into the terrible “treasure” of indignation which will burst the great dam of God’s long-suffering—in the great Day of Wrath, when God shall reveal His righteous judgment! (Of course, if you flee to Calvary, you will “not come into judgment” (John 5:24): for Judgment has already struck there!)
ACCORDING TO WORKS
6 Who will recompense to each one according to his works: 7 to them that by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, life eternal: 8 but to those who are contentious, and disobey the truth, being obedient to unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, 9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, both of Jew first, and also of Greek; 10 but glory and honor and peace to every soul of man that worketh good, both to Jew first, and also to Greek.
The third principle then, is, “according to works”: “Who will judge every one according to his works.” How could it be otherwise? You know that when a case comes to trial in courts of law, men first endeavor, through questioning witnesses, to discover the facts. Now God knows all the facts about every one of Adam’s race, and His judgment must be in accordance with them. It is not that God desires you to be damned, but, contrariwise, to believe on His Son, upon Whom His judgment for human sin fell at Calvary. Nevertheless, those that come up at the Last Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) will be “judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works” . . . “They were judged every man according to their works.”
But, as we shall see, it is the life as a whole, the life-choice, that is in question here. Consequently, we read here of the two great classes: the patiently enduring, and the rebellious; those whose life-practice is good, and those who work evil; those who obey the truth, and those who reject it in order to remain in the unrighteousness they love.
Verse 7: The “patient continuance in well-doing” is not at all set forth as the means of their procuring eternal life,39 but as a description of those to whom God does render life eternal. Well-doing is subjection to and obedience to the light God has vouchsafed.40 To Abel, “well-doing” meant approaching God by a sacrifice, as a sinner, as he had been taught to do. To Noah, “continuance in well-doing” meant building an ark to save his house and preserve life upon the earth, involving years of labor, and the ridicule of man. To Abraham, it meant leaving his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, and becoming a stranger and pilgrim on earth. To Job, it meant his God-fearing, evil-rejecting life; and afterwards, in the midst of his great affliction, bowing before the presence of God in dust and ashes. To Matthew the publican, it meant rising from his business and following the Lord Jesus; to Cornelius the centurion, a life of patient prayer and generosity,—and then believing the gospel at Peter’s lips. To Lydia, it meant humble and faithful attendance at “the place of prayer” till Paul came and “her heart was opened” to give heed to the gospel of grace spoken by the apostle,—whence followed her “obedience of faith.”
In every age since man sinned there have been those like Jabez, who was “more honorable than his brethren, and called upon God” (1 Chron. 4:9, 10); and like Joseph, who was “separate from his brethren.” There always have been choosers of God and rejectors of God.
Verse 8: We need only sketch in Scripture a few of the contentious, the factious41 a Cain who was angry, and hateful at God’s accepting Abel’s sacrifice; an Esau who despised his birthright and hated to the end the people of God; a Pharaoh who said to Moses, “Who is Jehovah that I should hearken unto His voice?” A Saul who despised the word of Jehovah and sought to destroy His elect king, David; a Jehoiakim, apostate king of Judah, who “cut with his penknife” and burned the prophecies of Jeremiah; scribes and Pharisees, who rejected John’s baptism of repentance,—and, consequently, our Lord’s loving offer of eternal life for sinners through faith in Himself alone; infidel Sadducees, who obeyed not the truth, by ridiculing it, as Modernists do today. All about us we perceive them,—“the factious,” those who oppose to Scripture their notions or arguments, and continue to obey unrighteousness. The world is filled with them, and they will fill hell shortly!
And now we must faithfully read and believe what God declares will befall these “factious” unbelievers: Wrath—indignation—tribulation—anguish42 thus is the fearful visitation of The Great Day upon the impenitent described, with concise but sweeping comprehensiveness: Wrath: this is “revealed from heaven” as the state of God’s mind toward the unbelieving wicked—“the wrath of God abides upon him” (John 3:36). Indignation: this is vividly described in Nahum: “Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?” Or Ezekiel: “I have poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath.” It seems to be the outburst in visitation of wrath stored up. Then (verse 9), tribulation: Here the visitation strikes its object. The false peace of his hardened, impenitent earth-life is now horribly broken up by direct visitation from God in vengeance. Finally, anguish: which sets forth the result of that tribulation which meets the lost directly from an angry, indignant Creator and Judge. “I am in anguish in this flame,” cried lost Dives, in Hades (God’s prison for the lost until the Day of Judgment). What unspeakable horrors, then, will that Day bring!
Verse 10: But God must again, in His heart of love, show in what sweet, heavenly contrast are those working good: glory, honor, peace,—to every such soul, Jew or Greek! The order of the words plainly points to that day when the righteous will be manifest. Then will be manifested in them that glory which they sought; there will be public honor; there will be everlasting peace!
Now remember that although we have not yet come in this Epistle to the unfolding of the way of peace, yet it belongs to your peace to let this great passage we are studying fall full into your heart.
WITHOUT RESPECT OF PERSONS
11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as made a life-choice of sin, though without law, without law also shall perish; and as many as under law made a life-choice of sin, shall be judged by law.43
Verse 11:The fourth principle, then, is, “Without respect of persons.” Among men, there is almost nothing else but what James and Jude denounce as “showing respect of persons”—“for the sake of advantage.” The rich, the educated, the travelled, the cultured, the prominent, the influential, the pleasing, the strong,—are all sought after. The poor, the ignorant, the weak, are despised and neglected. But not so with God. He sees men through His own eyes of holiness and truth always. He “seeth not as man seeth.” It is a terrifying thought to earth’s great,—but an infinitely comforting thought to every humble God-fearing soul,—that there is an impartial One, with no respect of persons, with whom they have to do!
Distinction in responsibility, according to privilege enjoyed, is constantly carried through Scripture. But light is light,—not darkness at all. Light is an absolute quality. If persons were lost in a forest at night, the least glimmer of light seen somewhere would attract those who desired deliverance from darkness, and they would hasten toward it; while those that feared light because of works of evil in which they desired to persist, would shrink back farther into the darkness; loving darkness not for its own sake, but, as our Lord said, “because their works are evil.”
In both cases, whether of those that do not have the (Mosaic) Law, or of those living, as the Jews did, under it if they choose sin, there is doom. There will be no respect of persons at all. Those “without law” choosing sin “shall perish”: those “choosing sin under law shall be judged by that law,” and consequently go into more terrible damnation.44
ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE, OR OBEDIENCE, NOT KNOWLEDGE
13 For not those hearing law are righteous before God, but on the contrary those doing law shall be accounted righteous. 14 (For when Gentiles not having law, by nature do the things of the Law, these, not at all having law, unto themselves are law; 15 for such show forth the work written in their hearts of the Law, their conscience bearing joint-witness [to this “work” in their hearts], and their inward thoughts answering one to the other, accusing [them] or else excusing [them].)
Verse 13: Not those hearing law, but those practising, accounted righteous before God. The fifth principle is, that hearing God’s Word is no advantage without obedience. Paul addresses the Jew directly, beginning at verse 17; but here, in verse 13, the principle is announced in general. It is not yet the Jew as possessing circumcision and the Law, as in verses 17 to 29 (for the word is hearing law—not the Law). But it is, in verse 13, the great fact, (true of Jews or Gentiles), that the possession of Divine truth can avail nothing with God apart from subjection and obedience thereto. There is no form of the “deceitfulness of sin” more insidious and more prevalent (because of its subtle power over the self-righteous heart) than that of settling down into false peace because of merely knowing God’s truth. Nor does God in this verse say any will be justified by “doing” (for He tells us plainly elsewhere that none will be), but He is saying here that doing, not mere hearing, is what His judgment calls for. We shall find that the gospel will speak of the “obedience of faith”: whereas disobedience and unbelief are interchangeable words.
We know that the blood of Christ is the only procuring cause for our being accounted righteous, and faith the sole condition. Yet it is deeply instructive here to quote a passage like that of Luke 1:6, concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth: “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Now their walk was not the ground of their acceptance, although only such as they are accepted! For they were subject to God’s Word, not mere hearers, but doers. The first verse of the book of Job describes such another. Indeed, at heart all God’s saints are such.
Verses 14, 15: (For when Gentiles [ethnē45—nations] not at all having law—that is Law as an external revelation from God (the Law if you will): these words alone, although there are many like passages, wholly refute the claim that God gave the Law to all nations. By nature, the things of the Law are doing—this does not mean that they are fulfilling the claims of the Law, for they do not have it, but that they are unconsciously aware, as moral beings, of what is right and wrong. These, law not at all having, to their own selves are law. We are giving the literal rendering of this passage. Note, first, that they do not at all have law, that is, external Divine enactment. Next, they are by their moral constitution, not by external enactments, “law to their very selves.” Being such ones, as show out [by their actions] the work (of the law) written in their hearts—Here, note most carefully that it is not the Law that is written, for the word “written” agrees grammatically with “the work.” It is a work that is written by God in the constitution of these whom He has “suffered to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16). For “as for His ordinances, they [the nations] have not known them” (Ps. 147:20). God is describing how He has constituted all men: there is a “work” within them, making them morally conscious. As we have said elsewhere, such a “work” would not be contrary to any succeeding revelation to Israel. Indeed, if the Israelites had not had this “work” within them, their moral constitution, the external enactments given by Moses might as well have been given to the stones of the wilderness. The conscience of these [nations] bearing fellow witness [with the Law,—though they have it not] and their inner-thoughts accordingly one with another accusing or else excusing)—Note that verses 14 and 15 are a parenthesis explanatory of verses 12 and 13: read verses 13 and 16 consecutively to see this fact.
ACCORDING TO HEART-SECRETS
16—in the day when God shall judge the secret counsels of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.
Verse 16: The sixth principle of God’s judgment here is that it comprehends the very secrets of men. Within every human heart, in hours of consciousness, there is going on a constant dialogue, as we read in verse 15: “Their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them.” There are those, indeed, in whom conscience has been “seared as with a hot iron,” so that its voice is no longer heard in protest. In these, also, however, God continually reads the dark, secret things of sin. And in the coming “day” all secrets must come to light. For the wicked, what an outlook! Even the saints, when Christ appears the second time, will come before the judgment seat (bema) of Christ (II Cor. 5:10). And, while the question of their works as sins will not be brought up at all,—for it is “apart from sin” that He appears to His own (Heb. 9:28),—yet to these, nevertheless, it is said in I Cor. 4:5: “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God.” It will be a solemn enough time, even for the saints, to have the works of their lives since their salvation examined, yea, even concerning the “counsels of the hearts,” their hidden motives. For the saints will receive only such “praise from God” as is righteously possible for each. But how unutterably awful even the contemplation of appearing unforgiven before a God Who will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ,—no longer a patient and willing Redeemer, but God’s appointed Judge in righteousness! (Acts 17:31).
In this great passage, verses 12 to 16, review carefully these facts:
(a) Absence of degrees of privilege possessed by others, excuses no one.
(b) The greater the privilege, however, the more searching and severe the judgment.
(c) All have committed sin, but it is the life-choice of sin, the life looked at as a whole, that is considered, in this place.
(d) Merely “hearing” the Law by a Jew (or, today, by Gentiles, the gospel) justifies no one. The Jew boasted in knowing the Law, but Christ said, “None of you keepeth the Law.” Thus, today, millions conscious of “Christian” privilege, and making “Christian” profession are going steadily on to judgment. For the Jew did not obey the Law (which commanded righteousness), and the merely professing Christian has not obeyed the gospel, which commands personal faith in the shed blood of the Redeemer, and confession before men of faith in Christ Risen.
(e) The Gentiles, by their very moral constitution, “by nature,” approve the things of the Law: that is, all men know it is wrong to lie, steal, and murder. I asked Chinese who had never heard the Law or the gospel if they knew these things were wrong; they all admitted they did. Consequently,
(f) They are said to be “a law unto themselves, since they show the work of the Law, written in their heart.” It is an inner moral consciousness “written” in man’s heart, a “work,” which while not the Law (though of course not contrary to it), must nevertheless, not be confounded with that operation of God in the future in the hearts of redeemed Israel, when He restores them: “I will put my Law in their inward parts [they will love it], and in their hearts will I write it.” [They will not have to try to recollect the Law: they will have it constantly and always before them] for the “stony heart” will have been “taken away” (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-27). It is then that the (Mosaic) Law will be fulfilled in “every jot and tittle,” by redeemed Israel.
But the work of the Law appears in every human being; so that we read,
(g) Man’s conscience bears fellow-witness to this law-work in his moral constitution; consequently men daily, hourly, constantly, are having “inward thoughts” which have voices of accusation or approval, according as a man’s conduct may be.
To repeat, then, God here declares that there is a righteous “work” Divinely written and maintained in all men’s hearts, from which they cannot escape; because their consciences “agree” with it (with this inner working). This “work” is evidently what lies at the root of the human conscience. The Law (of Moses) has never been written in the hearts of the Gentiles; but a Divine “work” is present in all men. The moral and spiritual constitution of man came 2,500 years ‘before Moses’ Law; and the latter could only be the written expression of what existed before as a work, or witness, in man’s being, to which his conscience attested.46

Study of ROMANS 1:26-32

26 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: 27 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. 28 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; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 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.

From the Bible Knowledge Commentary: 1:26-27. Also God gave them over to shameful lusts (lit., “passions of disgrace”). This involved, as the text states, both sexes engaging in homosexual instead of heterosexual relationships. Women deliberately exchanged natural relations (with men in marriage) for unnatural ones (with other women). This is the second “exchange” the unregenerate made (cf. v. 25). Men … were inflamed with lust (orexei, “sexual lust,” used only here in the NT and differing from the more common word for lust in v. 26).
The words translated women and men in these verses are the sexual words “females” and “males.” Contemporary homosexuals insist that these verses mean that it is perverse for a heterosexual male or female to engage in homosexual relations but it is not perverse for a homosexual male or female to do so since homosexuality is such a person’s natural preference. This is strained exegesis unsupported by the Bible. The only natural sexual relationship the Bible recognizes is a heterosexual one (Gen. 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-6) within marriage. All homosexual relations constitute sexual perversion and are subject to God’s judgment. Such lustful and indecent acts have within them the seeds of punishment (due penalty).
c. Abandoned to depraved lifestyle (1:28-32).
1:28. Pagan humanity’s rebellion also included the rejection of the knowledge (epignōsei, “full knowledge”; cf. v. 32) of God. In a sense they put God out of their minds. God’s responding judgment was abandonment (cf. vv. 24, 26) to a depraved (adokimon, “disapproved”) mind, which expressed itself in attitudes and actions that ought not to be done (lit., “what is unfitting or improper,” a technical Stoic word).
1:29-31. The mental vacuum created by dismissing God was filled (the perf. tense implies filled full) with four forms of active sin: wickedness (adikia; cf. v. 18), evil (ponēria), greed, and depravity (kakia, “badness or malice”). These four in turn express themselves in 17 more specific types of wickedness. The first two, envy and murder, sound much alike in Greek: phthonou and phonou. Also the four vices in verse 31 each begin with the Greek letter alpha (“a” in Eng.).
1:32. This whole pattern of evil becomes the lifestyle of people who continue to do (pres. tense implies continuing or habitual action) these very things in open defiance of God, a defiance aggravated (a) by fully knowing (epignontes; cf. v. 28) that such things deserve death and (b) by encouraging others in the same lifestyle. Such extremity of human rebellion against God fully warrants God’s condemnation

Study of ROMANS 1:18-25

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 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: 21 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. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 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. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 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

Ro 1:18. WHY THIS DIVINELY PROVIDED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NEEDED BY ALL MEN.
18. For the wrath of God—His holy displeasure and righteous vengeance against sin.
is revealed from heaven—in the consciences of men, and attested by innumerable outward evidences of a moral government.
against all ungodliness—that is, their whole irreligiousness, or their living without any conscious reference to God, and proper feelings towards Him.
and unrighteousness of men—that is, all their deviations from moral rectitude in heart, speech, and behavior. (So these terms must be distinguished when used together, though, when standing alone, either of them includes the other).
Ro 1:18–32. THIS WRATH OF GOD, REVEALED AGAINST ALL INIQUITY, OVERHANGS THE WHOLE HEATHEN WORLD.
18. who hold—rather, “hold down,” “hinder,” or “keep back.”
the truth in unrighteousness—The apostle, though he began this verse with a comprehensive proposition regarding men in general, takes up in the end of it only one of the two great divisions of mankind, to whom he meant to apply it; thus gently sliding into his argument. But before enumerating their actual iniquities, he goes back to the origin of them all, their stifling the light which still remained to them. As darkness overspreads the mind, so impotence takes possession of the heart, when the “still small voice” of conscience is first disregarded, next thwarted, and then systematically deadened. Thus “the truth” which God left with and in men, instead of having free scope and developing itself, as it otherwise would, was obstructed (compare Mt 6:22, 23; Mt 6:22, 23, Eph 4:17, 18).
19. Because that which may be—rather, “which is.”
known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them—The sense of this pregnant statement the apostle proceeds to unfold in Ro 1:20.
20. For the invisible things of him from—or “since”
the creation of the world are clearly seen—the mind brightly beholding what the eye cannot discern.
being understood by the things that are made—Thus, the outward creation is not the parent but the interpreter of our faith in God. That faith has its primary sources within our own breast (Ro 1:19); but it becomes an intelligible and articulate conviction only through what we observe around us (“by the things which are made,” Ro 1:20). And thus are the inner and the outer revelation of God the complement of each other, making up between them one universal and immovable conviction that God is. (With this striking apostolic statement agree the latest conclusions of the most profound speculative students of Theism).
even his eternal power and Godhead—both that there is an Eternal Power, and that this is not a mere blind force, or pantheistic “spirit of nature,” but the power of a living Godhead.
so that they are without excuse—all their degeneracy being a voluntary departure from truth thus brightly revealed to the unsophisticated spirit.
21. Because that, when they knew God—that is, while still retaining some real knowledge of Him, and ere they sank down into the state next to be described.
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful—neither yielded the adoration due to Himself, nor rendered the gratitude which His beneficence demanded.
but became vain—(compare Je 2:5).
in their imaginations—thoughts, notions, speculations, regarding God; compare Mt 15:19; Lu 2:35; 1Co 3:20, Greek.
and their foolish—“senseless,” “stupid.”
heart—that is, their whole inner man.
was darkened—How instructively is the downward progress of the human soul here traced!
22, 23. Professing themselves—“boasting,” or “pretending to be”
wise, they became fools—“It is the invariable property of error in morals and religion, that men take credit to themselves for it and extol it as wisdom. So the heathen” (1Co 1:21) [THOLUCK].
23. And changed—or “exchanged.”
the glory of the uncorruptible God into—or “for”
an image … like to corruptible man—The allusion here is doubtless to the Greek worship, and the apostle may have had in his mind those exquisite chisellings of the human form which lay so profusely beneath and around him as he stood on Mars’ Hill; and “beheld their devotions.” (See on Ac 17:29). But as if that had not been a deep enough degradation of the living God, there was found “a lower deep” still.
and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and to creeping things—referring now to the Egyptian and Oriental worship. In the face of these plain declarations of the descent of man’s religious belief from loftier to ever lower and more debasing conceptions of the Supreme Being, there are expositors of this very Epistle (as REICHE and JOWETT), who, believing neither in any fall from primeval innocence, nor in the noble traces of that innocence which lingered even after the fall and were only by degrees obliterated by wilful violence to the dictates of conscience, maintain that man’s religious history has been all along a struggle to rise, from the lowest forms of nature worship, suited to the childhood of our race, into that which is more rational and spiritual.
24. Wherefore God also—in righteous retribution.
gave them up—This divine abandonment of men is here strikingly traced in three successive stages, at each of which the same word is used (Ro 1:24; 26; and Ro 1:28, where the word is rendered “gave over”). “As they deserted God, God in turn deserted them; not giving them divine (that is, supernatural) laws, and suffering them to corrupt those which were human; not sending them prophets, and allowing the philosophers to run into absurdities. He let them do what they pleased, even what was in the last degree vile, that those who had not honored God, might dishonor themselves” [GROTIUS].
25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie—that is, the truth concerning God into idol falsehood.
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator—Professing merely to worship the Creator by means of the creature, they soon came to lose sight of the Creator in the creature. How aggravated is the guilt of the Church of Rome, which, under the same flimsy pretext, does shamelessly what the heathen are here condemned for doing, and with light which the heathen never had!
who is blessed for ever! Amen—By this doxology the apostle instinctively relieves the horror which the penning of such things excited within his breast; an example to such as are called to expose like dishonor done to the blessed God.

Study of ROMANS 1:16-17

16 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. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

What a testimony: “I am debtor! I am eager! I am not ashamed!” Why would Paul even be tempted to be ashamed of the Gospel as he contemplated his trip to Rome? For one thing, the Gospel was identified with a poor Jewish carpenter who was crucified. The Romans had no special appreciation for the Jews, and crucifixion was the lowest form of execution given a criminal. Why put your faith in a Jew who was crucified?
Rome was a proud city, and the Gospel came from Jerusalem, the capital city of one of the little nations that Rome had conquered. The Christians in that day were not among the elite of society; they were common people and even slaves. Rome had known many great philosophers and philosophies; why pay any attention to a fable about a Jew who arose from the dead? (1 Cor. 1:18–25) Christians looked on each other as brothers and sisters, all one in Christ, which went against the grain of Roman pride and dignity. To think of a little Jewish tentmaker, going to Rome to preach such a message, is almost humorous.
But Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel. He had confidence in his message, and he gave us several reasons that explain why he was not ashamed.
The origin of the Gospel: it is the Gospel of Christ (v. 16a). Any message that was handed down from Caesar would immediately get the attention of the Romans. But the message of the Gospel is from and about the very Son of God! In his opening sentence, Paul called this message “the Gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1). How could Paul be ashamed of such a message, when it came from God and centered in His Son, Jesus Christ?
During my years in high school, I was chosen to be an office monitor. The other hall monitors sat at various stations around the building, but I was privileged to sit right outside the door of the main high school office. I was entrusted with important messages that I had to deliver to different teachers and staff members, and on occasion even to other schools. Believe me, it was fun to walk into a classroom and even interrupt a lesson! No teacher ever scolded me, because all of them knew I carried messages from the principal. I never had to be afraid or ashamed, because I knew where my messages came from.
The operation of the Gospel: it is the power of God (v. 16b). Why be ashamed of power? Power is the one thing that Rome boasted of the most. Greece might have its philosophy, but Rome had its power. The fear of Rome hovered over the empire like a cloud. Were they not the conquerors? Were not the Roman legions stationed all over the known world? But with all of her military power, Rome was still a weak nation. The philosopher Seneca called the city of Rome “a cesspool of iniquity”; and the writer Juvenal called it a “filthy sewer into which the dregs of the empire flood.”
No wonder Paul was not ashamed: he was taking to sinful Rome the one message that had the power to change men’s lives! He had seen the Gospel work in other wicked cities such as Corinth and Ephesus; and he was confident that it would work in Rome. It had transformed his own life, and he knew it could transform the lives of others. There was a third reason why Paul was not ashamed.
The outcome of the Gospel: it is the power of God unto salvation (v. 16c). That word “salvation” carried tremendous meaning in Paul’s day. Its basic meaning is “deliverance,” and it was applied to personal and national deliverance. The emperor was looked on as a savior, as was the physician who healed you of illness. The Gospel delivers sinners from the penalty and power of sin. “Salvation” is a major theme in this letter; salvation is the great need of the human race (see Rom. 10:1, 9–10). If men and women are to be saved, it must be through faith in Jesus Christ as proclaimed in the Gospel.
The outreach of the Gospel: “to everyone that believeth” (vv. 16d-17). This was not an exclusive message for either the Jew or the Gentile; it was for all men, because all men need to be saved. “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,” was Christ’s commission (Mark 16:15). “To the Jew first” does not suggest that the Jew is better than the Gentile; for there is “no difference” in condemnation or in salvation (Rom. 2:6–11; 10:9–13). The Gospel came “to the Jew first” in the ministry of Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:5–7) and the Apostles (Acts 3:26). How marvelous it is to have a message of power that can be taken to all people!
God does not ask men to behave in order to be saved, but to believe. It is faith in Christ that saves the sinner. Eternal life in Christ is one gift that is suitable for all people, no matter what their need may be or what their station in life.
Romans 1:17 is the key verse of the letter. In it Paul announces the theme: “the righteousness of God.” The word “righteousness” is used in one way or another over sixty times in this letter (righteous, just, and justified). God’s righteousness is revealed in the Gospel; for in the death of Christ, God revealed His righteousness by punishing sin; and in the resurrection of Christ, He revealed His righteousness by making salvation available to the believing sinner. The problem “How can a holy God ever forgive sinners and still be holy?” is answered in the Gospel. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God is seen to be “both just and justifier” (Rom. 3:26).
The Gospel reveals a righteousness that is by faith. In the Old Testament, righteousness was by works, but sinners soon discovered they could not obey God’s Law and meet His righteous demands. Here Paul refers to Habakkuk 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith.” This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament: Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38. Romans explains “the just”; Galatians explains “shall live”; and Hebrews explains “by faith.” There are more than sixty references to faith or unbelief in Romans.
When you study Romans, you walk into a courtroom. First, Paul called Jews and Gentiles to the stand and found both guilty before God. Then he explained God’s marvelous way of salvation—justification by faith. At this point, he answered his accusers and defended God’s salvation. “This plan of salvation will encourage people to sin!” they cry. “It is against the very Law of God!” But Paul refuted them, and in so doing explained how the Christian can experience victory, liberty, and security.
Chapters 9–11 are not a parenthesis or a detour. There were Jewish believers in the Roman assemblies and they would naturally ask, “What about Israel? How does God’s righteousness relate to them in this new age of the church?” In these three chapters, Paul gave a complete history of Israel, past, present, and future.
Then he concluded with the practical outworking of God’s righteousness in the life of the believer. This begins with dedication to God (Rom. 12:1–2), continues with ministry in the church (Rom. 12:3–21), and then obedience to the government (Rom. 13:1–14). He also told Jews and Gentiles, strong and weak, how to live together in harmony and joy. In the closing section (Rom. 15:14–16:27), Paul explained his plans and greeted his friends.
When you sum it all up, the Book of Romans is saying to us—“Be right!” Be right with God, with yourself, and with others! The righteousness of God received by faith makes it possible for us to live right lives. Rome needed this message, and we need it today: Be right!

Study of ROMANS 1:8-15

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 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; 10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 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. 14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

He Expressed His Concern (Rom. 1:8–15)

We can well understand Paul’s concern for the churches that he founded, but why would he be concerned about the believers at Rome? He was unknown to many of them, yet he wanted to assure them that he was deeply concerned about their welfare. Note the evidences of Paul’s concern.
He was thankful for them (v. 8). “The whole world”—meaning the whole Roman Empire—knew of the faith of the Christians at Rome. Travel was relatively common in that day and “all roads led to Rome.” It is no wonder that the testimony of the church spread abroad, and this growing witness made Paul’s ministry easier as he went from place to place, and was able to point to this testimony going out from the heart of the Roman Empire.

He prayed for them (vv. 9–10). They did not know of Paul’s prayer support, but the Lord knew about it and honored it. (I wonder how many of us know the people who are praying for us?) One of the burdens of Paul’s prayer was that God would permit him to visit Rome and minister to the churches there. He would have visited them sooner, but his missionary work had kept him busy (Rom. 15:15–33). He was about to leave Corinth for Jerusalem to deliver the special offering received from the Gentile churches for the poor Jewish saints. He hoped he would be able to travel from Jerusalem to Rome, and then on to Spain; and he was hoping for a prosperous journey.
Actually, Paul had a very perilous journey; and he arrived in Rome a prisoner as well as a preacher. In Jerusalem he was arrested in the temple, falsely accused by the Jewish authorities and eventually sent to Rome as the Emperor’s prisoner to be tried before Caesar. When Paul wrote this letter, he had no idea that he would go through imprisonment and even shipwreck before arriving in Rome! At the close of the letter (Rom. 15:30–33), he asked the believers in Rome to pray for him as he contemplated this trip; and it is a good thing that they did pray!

He loved them (vv. 11–12). “I long to see you!” This is the pastor’s heart in Paul the great missionary. Some of the saints in Rome were very dear to Paul, such as Priscilla and Aquila (Rom. 16:3–4), who risked their lives for him; “the beloved Persis” (Rom. 16:12); and others who had labored and suffered with Paul. But he also loved the believers that he did not know, and he longed to be able to share some spiritual gift with them. He was looking forward to a time of mutual blessing in the love of Christ.

He was in debt to them (vv. 13–14). As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul had an obligation to minister in Rome. He would have fulfilled that obligation sooner, but his other labors had hindered him. Sometimes Paul was hindered because of the work of Satan (1 Thes. 2:17–20); but in this case he was hindered because of the work of the Lord. There was so much to do in Asia Minor and Greece that he could not immediately spare time for Rome. But Paul had to pay his debt; he was under orders from the Lord.
The Greeks considered every non-Greek a barbarian. Steeped in centuries of philosophy, the Greeks saw themselves as wise and everyone else as foolish. But Paul felt an obligation to all men, just as we need to feel a burden for the whole world. Paul could not be free from his debt until he had told as many people as possible the Good News of salvation in Christ.

He was eager to visit them (v. 15). Two different Greek words are translated “ready” in the King James Version. One means “prepared,” as in Acts 21:13. “I am ready … to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” The other one, used in Romans 1:15, means “eager, with a ready mind.” Paul was not eager to die, though he was prepared to die. But he was eager to visit Rome that he might minister to the believers there. It was not the eagerness of a sightseer, but the eagerness of a soul-winner.
After reading these five evidences of Paul’s concern for the Christians at Rome, these saints could not but give thanks to God for the Apostle Paul and his burden to come and minister to them. Actually, the Epistle to the Romans in which Paul explained the Gospel he preached, was his letter of introduction that prepared the believers for his visit. No doubt the false teachers had already gotten to Rome and were seeking to poison the Christians against Paul (see Rom. 3:8). Some would accuse him of being anti-Law; others would say he was a traitor to the Jewish nation. Still others would twist his teaching about grace and try to prove that he taught loose living. No wonder Paul was eager to get to Rome! He wanted to share with them the fullness of the Gospel of Christ.
But would the Gospel of Christ work in the great city of Rome as it had in other places? Would Paul succeed there, or would he fail? The apostle no doubt felt these objections and raised these questions in his own mind, which is why he forged a third link between himself and his readers.