The Book of Romans The Story of Gods

The Book of Romans The Story of God’s Explosive Grace

If you are going to do an in depth study on a Biblical subject, which of the following should be at the top of the list? • • • End times Christian life Heaven Salvation Apologetics

A “super” outline of the Book of Romans based on 7 “S’s”… �Salutation �Sin �Salvation �Sanctification �Sovereignty �Spirituality �Sayonara 1. 1 -17 1. 18 -3. 20 3. 21 -4 5 -8 9 -11 12 -15 16

The Core of the Core… The Book of Romans is the core of the New Testament, and Romans 3. 21 -31 is the core of Romans

What is meant by the core of the core… As stated before in our study, Romans is the single greatest document ever. There exists nothing greater. Why? Because this letter is the most highly developed part of the Bible explaining how Christ’s sacrifice is the basis whereby man can be declared righteous before God. Having said this, our current study of chapter 3. 2131 is the core of Romans. In these eleven verses is the explanation of the teaching of justification, the act by which God declares and clothes the sinner with His own righteousness.

Just for record… There are other great passages in Scripture on the teaching of salvation: �Ephesians 2. 1 -10 �Philippians 3. 1 -12 �Hebrews 9. 11 -22 However Romans 3. 21 -31 is especially significant. We will get to the “why” shortly.

Part 1 Understanding three key terms in Romans 3. 21 -31

Three significant words used over and over in Romans 3. 21 -31… 1. Law (7 times used) 2. Justified / righteousness (9 times used) 3. Faith / believe (9 times used)

Let’s color code the words… 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being declared righteousness as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness , because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteousness and the righteousness declarer of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of Law ? Of works? No, but by a Law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is declared righteousness by faith apart from works of the Law.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will declare righteousness the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith ? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

First Word = Law The term Law (Torah in Hebrew and Nomos in Greek) can mean several things… �The Torah – first five books of Moses – Romans 3. 21 �Old Testament – I Corinthians 14. 21 �The Ten Commandments � 613 Old Testament laws �A Principle – Romans 3. 27; 7. 21 -25

What types of law were found in the Old Testament �The Ten Commandments (and other moral laws) �Ceremonial �Health �Civil

Before we continue, we need clarification about how salvation is pursued… Jews followed the Law… For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Romans 3. 28 Gentiles performed good deeds… For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2. 8 -9

So why is Paul going on and on about the OT Law to a primarily Gentile audience? Paul must establish that he has not invented some new religion contradictory with the Old Testament. The Law was the centerpiece of Judaism and must be addressed. In chapter 4, Paul will prove that salvation has always been faith based and not law based. He will cite both Abraham and David to prove his point. Hence, Christianity is not a new religion but a fulfillment of the Old Testament.

This is how Islam deals with the same issue… In round numbers, Islam is about 1, 400 years old. Muhammad began preaching in 610 AD. The difficulty for Mohammad was to connect it with something that goes back to the beginning so that it looks authentic. So Islam agrees that the Bible is the true revelation of God and embraces Adam, Moses, Joseph, and Jesus. Then they make the claim that the Bible of the Jews and Christians has been corrupted and that they have the true Scriptures. This is sort of like the eighth season of the Dallas television series. The program killed Bobby Ewing off in one season then wanted to bring him back the next. No problem, so they made the entire prior season a dream and the audience bought it. People will buy anything.

Getting back on track… What does Paul mean by the Law in this passage? Does he mean just the Ten Commandments? Or does he mean all 613 laws? The exact meaning has been debated. The short answer is that it can refer to any grouping of laws in the Old Testament that one believes if he or she follows that they will receive salvation.

Salvation in Islam teaches that all people are sinners (Quran 16, 61) and that salvation can be attained through observing the Five Pillars of Islamic practice: 1) the belief that Allah is the only god and that Muhammad is his messenger; 2) performing the five daily prayers; 3) fasting throughout the month of Ramadan; 4) charity, giving to the poor; 5) the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if one can afford it. By performing these works, a Muslim hopes that at the judgment day the recorded good deeds will exceed the bad ones, and so he or she will reach the paradise of material and sensual delights.

Second Word = Righteousness The one little Greek word that sparked a revolution

55 times in Romans variations of the same root is used… TENSE TERM Righteous Noun Righteousness Verb Justified Noun USED STRONGS 7 G 1342 33 G 1343 15 G 1344 GREEK dí-kai-os di-kai-o-sún-ē di-kai-ó-ō In the context of Biblical use: � Righteous: That which conforms to the standard of God’s holiness and His character. � Righteousness: The quality of being righteous � Justified: To be judicially declared righteous

What the Church messed up… Catholicism confused Justification with Sanctification: TERM Justification Sanctification PROCESS You were saved You are being saved TENSE Past Present Glorification You will be saved Future Because of a failure of the Church to understand this aspect of Christian theology known as Soteriology, darkness overshadowed Christianity and turned the good news into bad news like all the other religions.

Third word = Faith / Believe Biblical faith is best understood with the acronym BOS Believe Obedience Submission

B for believe Believe (verb) and faith (noun) are the same root word in the New Testament. The simple meaning is to accept with your mind a set of information to be true. In Christianity it means that one accepts as true that Christ is God incarnated and that He paid for the sins of the world through His crucifixion and resurrection. And that though believing this to be true, one receives forgiveness and becomes saved.

Here are some examples… 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. James 2 The kind of faith the Bible speaks of is that kind of faith that starts with believing facts to be true and then moves one to action. For example, if you believed that a bomb was in the same room that you and your family were in, and set to go off in one minute, your belief would turn into the action of doing everything in your power to evacuate the room as fast as humanly possible.

O for obedience In Numbers 13. 25 -14. 36, the story of the twelve men spying on the land of Canaan is told. Ten men report that the land cannot be taken. Only two had faith in God that the land was theirs which God had promised. God punishes them for their disobedience over forty years of wandering the desert. This is what Hebrews says about the incident… 17 And with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Hebrews 3

S for submission Biblical submission is the act or mindset of yielding to another of higher power or authority. In terms of God, it means to allow Him His lawful place as Lord of your life. 9 “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it. ” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. Matthew 8

One thing we have missed. What specifically are we to have faith in? � In Christ – Romans 3. 22 � In Jesus – Romans 3. 26 � In Him (God 4. 3) – Romans 4. 5 � In Christ Jesus – Galatians 2. 16 � In Christ – Galatians 2. 16 � In Jesus Christ – Galatians 3. 22 � In Christ Jesus – Galatians 3. 26 � In the Lord Jesus – Ephesians 1. 15 � In Him (Christ Jesus our Lord 3. 11) – Ephesians 3. 12 � In Christ – Philippians 3. 9 � In the working of God – Colossians 2. 12 � In the truth – II Thessalonians 2. 13 � In Christ Jesus – Timothy 3. 15 � In God – I Peter 1. 21

Part 2 Getting down to the core of Romans 3. 21 -31 by asking eight questions

Our passage answers that huge question from Evangelism Explosion… If you were to die and stand before God, and He asked you, “Why should I let you into My heaven? ” What would you say?

1. In short, what is the essence of one becoming right before God? 21 a. God has now made it know how man can be declared right and righteous before Him and it is totally apart from following the OT Law. 21 b. This is not something new, the same truth is weaved throughout both the Torah and the rest of the Old Testament. 22 a. This being declared righteous is appropriated by faith and is for all people of all time who take the step of believing in Christ. 22 b. This places all people on an equal playing field.

2. Is there any chance that someone could make this righteous standing on their own? 23. Every human has committed acts of sin and therefore falls short and misses the mark when measuring one’s life and behavior to the standard of God’s glory is His beauty and magnificence emulating from His goodness, righteousness, and holiness. In the context of what is being said, attaining to this “glory” seems to be that which would be required for a person not to need God’s declaration of righteousness, but to make heaven via their own glory. But again, all fall short.

3. What is the breakdown of how justification works? This act of justification is made possible by three of God’s blessings: A. Gift 24. • You can’t buy it, earn it, trade for it, transfer it, or rent it • However, gifts can be either received or refused B. Grace • Describes God’s motivation for making salvation possible for those unable to accomplish it on their own C. Redemption • The act whereby Christ purchases us from the slave market of sin by the blood of His Son at Calvary

4. What was the cost to God when He enacted His plan of salvation? 25 a. Since the explanation incorporates the work of Christ at Calvary as just stated, this is what we need to add. The Father displayed Christ publically on the cross to atone for sin, which mandated Christ’s blood, and requires faith to acquire this justification. The cost was the cross. For the first time in eternity, the perfect unity, fellowship, and intimacy between the Father and the Son was broken. As the earth turned dark for three hours, Christ was paying for what it would take man an eternity to pay.

5. What about those who lived and died before the cross? 25 b. Let’s discuss those who lived before the cross? God could have destroyed all humans in the past because they were sinners. But because God is patient, He knew the cross was coming and would give past sinners before the cross who had exercised faith, this wonderful gift also. 26. He would credit justification to them based on the future atonement of the cross. This means God is both righteous and the One who declares the sinner righteous who exercises faith in Christ.

6. What about bragging about earning one’s salvation? 27. Let us discuss how this issue of justification interplays with boasting and bragging. The short answer is it is totally gone! On what basis? Of being justified by good works? No! Since, it is based on faith in Christ, no one can brag, you can’t brag when you have not earned something but were given it as a gift. 28. Again, let’s be absolutely clear! Being declared righteous by God is by faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross. It has nothing to do with keeping the Law.

7. Is there one plan of salvation for the Jews and another for Gentiles? 29. What the above shows is this. God cares for the Gentiles also and provides the same means of salvation for them and not only His chosen people the Jews. 30. What is the evidence for this? The fact that God declares both groups righteous who place their faith in Him and trust Him for salvation.

8. It sounds like this view eliminates and invalidates the Law, does it? 31. Heavens no! The Law is God’s perfect standard. Any other means of saving people from their sins would have required lowering the standard of the Law so that non-perfect people could make it. It would be like lowering the requirements to get into college for any one with straights F’s. God’s way allows sinners to enter heaven without lowering the requirements of the Law, hence the Law is established because it is not lowered nor compromised.