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© 2016 novum publishing

ISBN Printed Edition: 978-3-99048-566-8

ISBN e-book: 978-3-99048-567-5

Editing: Louise Darvid

Cover image: Apollo Kikule

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PREFACE

Today Man reasons and rationalizes about many things: ways of alleviating poverty, war, disease, disasters, calamities, etc. but there is no answer coming forth. The darkened hearts have been made empty is God’s just retribution.

Rationalizing gets us nowhere because man has traded God’s glory (the Truth) for the perishable things of the world. Men reprobate God and hence His wrath (seen in the deteriorating condition of our world.)

In the Epistle to the Romans, we find God’s answer to our problems in the world. It will not be the power of any super power or the most prosperous economy or the work of any visible Church to put matters right, or solve the problems of our world. Only God’s utterance from the Scripture is the answer; and the Epistle to the Romans is one of the greatest spiritual weapons in man’s hand to reverse the deteriorating condition of the world.

The Truth laid out in this Epistle forms the basis of a harmonious existence of human life on earth. Of course, the rest of God’s utterances do the same, but the Epistle to the Romans is short yet comprehensive and is intended for our earthly existence. Obviously humanity has ignored all Scripture and God’s answer to our rebellious existence is His wrath which appears in different forms as listed below:

1. 1. Breakdown of the visible Church into different denominations for instead of being united by the Word we have the differing interpretations of the same. Surely these different interpretations cannot be right and the results of these are the many forms of worship which St. Paul strongly wrote against in this epistle and elsewhere.
2. 2. Ever deteriorating abuse of fellow man from hatred in the heart of man, religious fanaticism which is the child birth of paganism, deteriorating family conditions, sectarianism, wars, unheard of strange behavior in all our society, young and old alike.
3. 3. Natural disasters like floods, hunger, famine, poverty and the like in many parts of our world. These retributions, etc., are part of God’s wrath for rebellious hearts.
4. 4. But the worst of God’s wrath is: the deprivation of the human mind of God’s central control mechanisms – having no fear of God – a result of ungodliness in man’s heart, the suppression of God’s manifested Truth in His work of creation and Salvation.

It is for this reason that God Himself, the Author of life, once more gives us another opportunity to embrace Him; the human writers like the Prophets and Apostles remain nothing more than just being mouthpieces of God’s utterances.

Here in the Epistle to the Romans, we find the Spiritual Solution in a nutshell which alone can reverse the current trend of our ungodliness. Ungodliness is the greatest sin. It is the original cause of God’s condemnatory verdict of man’s eternal death.

THE THEME IN THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
God’s Righteousness

1. Romans Chapter 1:1-17 – God’s Gospel

1. 1. God’s Gospel with its gift of righteousness
2. 2. The Son’s Gospel – Obedience of faith
3. 3. God’s gift of righteousness through faith

2. Romans Chapter 1:18-32 – God’s Wrath

1. 1. Ungodliness (Sinfulness of man)
2. 2. Our Guilt thereof
3. 3. God’s Revelation of His Wrath

3. Romans Chapter 2: 1-29 – Moralism
(Reliance on Law for Salvation)

1. 1. Moralism (reliance on Law for reform or discipline)
2. 2. The Guilt thereof
3. 3. Moralism is the foe of the Gospel

4. Romans Chapter 3:1-31 –
The Advantage of the Gospel (The Word)

1. 1. The Realization of Sin
2. 2. The Revelation of God’s gift of Righteousness
3. 3. The Gospel is our Ransom

5. Romans Chapter 4: 1-25 –
The Gospel is the Sovereignty of God

1. 1. Substitutes believers’ faith for righteousness
2. 2. Establishes the spiritual quality
3. 3. Establishes the hope of our resurrection

6. Romans Chapter 5: 1-21 –
God’s Love is the fulfillment of the Law

1. 1. Our Deliverance – Christ’s obedience.
2. 2. Our Redemption – the vicarious death
3. 3. Our Hope – The gift of the Holy Spirit

7. Romans Chapter 6:1-23 –
The Gospel is Our Deliverance.

1. 1. Our Liberation – Baptism
2. 2. Faith Obedience – our enslavement to Righteousness
3. 3. Sanctification – the Spiritual body (Unity)

8. Romans Chapter 7:1-25 –
The Gospel is our Redemption (or God’s Law)

1. 1. Knowledge of Sin (Our Conversion)
2. 2. Deliverance from the law – (The Death of Christ)
3. 3. The glorious hope – (The New Spiritual Life)

9. Romans Chapter 8:1-17 – The Gospel is our Spiritual Resurrection

1. 1. The Law of the Spirit
2. 2. It is the fulfilled Promise that is Believers are fully
   redeemed – (evidence of spiritual life)
3. 3. The Law of the Spirit sanctifies

10. Romans Chapter 8:18-39 –
Conforming to Christ’s suffering

1. 1. God’s loving providence (The called)
2. 2. God’s purpose (conformity) –
   Repentance through the call
3. 3. Comfort – our actual confession and testimony

11. Romans Chapter 9:1-33 – God’s Sovereignty and power.

1. 1. God’s great plan of Salvation – the Seed of Israel
2. 2. Mercy for wretchedness
3. 3. Long Suffering (His patience with the vessels of wrath)

12. Romans Chapter 10:1-21 – The Supremacy of God

1. 1. One God, One Nation, One Rule of Righteousness
2. 2. His Lordship
3. 3. The utterance of faith

13. Romans Chapter 11: 1-36 – The Saving Purpose

1. 1. Election by Grace
2. 2. The Reconciliation of the World
   (the marvel of divine grace)
3. 3. God’s mercy – (not as one running or working)

14. Romans Chapter 12: 1-21 – Living Sacrifice

1. 1. The Portion of Faith – Our qualification and obligation
2. 2. The Doctrine – Our boundary
3. 3. Love – Our intelligence

15. Romans Chapter 13: 1-14 –
God’s Rule over the World – Authority

1. 1. God’s Authority
2. 2. God’s Love
3. 3. God’s Righteousness

16. Romans Chapter 14:1-23 – The Intelligence –
(True Knowledge that attains purpose –
the Harmony in the Church)

1. 1. Admonition
2. 2. Comprehension
3. 3. Purpose (distinction between law and grace)

17. Romans Chapter 15:1-33 – The Holy Spirit – (Power)

1. 1. Sanctification – (the unity – the believers’ ability)
2. 2. Wisdom – (the ability to put each other in mind –
   the competency)
3. 3. Love – (the intelligence – the child birth of God’s wisdom, the Christian bond – apostleship in case of Prophets, Apostles and all believers’ Fellowship)

18. Romans Chapter 16:1-27 – God’s Wisdom
(Firmness of the Heart)

1. 1. Our Wisdom – (our great hope)
2. 2. Our Righteousness – (peace on earth)
3. 3. Our Sanctification – (Joy on earth)

ROMANS CHAPER 1:1-17
God’s Gospel (With its gift of Righteousness)

The Christian congregation in Rome had distinctive characteristics and competences which were observable by all who came into contact with them. Ordinary people and travelers could see a membership having all different races, meeting together for worship without any disagreement within and without. Unity is the one distinguishing mark of the Gospel and such was this congregation in Rome. Jews, Gentiles, slaves from the imperial royalty, men and women plus children. All these met regularly as one congregation. Such was unheard of in the Jewish communities and Gentile World! This unity is what filled Paul’s heart with inexplicable great joy. He heard of it in every city he travelled to in Asia; Macedonia, Achaia, Galatia etc. Paul and all disciples knew the underlying cause of this unity, namely – God’s Gospel. The rest of the world could only see the distinctive characteristics of unity and of course did not understand the underlying causes.

It is this underlying feature of unity which Paul refers to as the faith being advertised all over the world. Not only had the pagan travelers talked about this congregation but the many Jewish travelers must have noted this outstanding competency. This congregation as a result was very different from the ever-striving, unsatisfiable populace in Rome. Conscious of God’s power of grace (the effects of the Gospel) plus Paul’s inner induced deep feeling and attraction towards all believers:

• • Paul could not help but have an intense desire developed to visit this congregation whose spirit was of the same nature as his.
• • Thus he introduced himself to this congregation in Rome by way of this Epistle as their own with one spiritual life marked by the obedience of faith which was kindled by God’s Gospel.
• • Which alone reveals God’s Power of Grace – “His gift of Righteousness” Which is the greatest gift to mankind, and this alone unites all men as it did to this congregation in Rome.

God’s Gospel consists of:

1. 1) God’s Gospel with its gift of righteousness
2. 2) The Son’s Gospel – the Obedience of Faith
3. 3) God’s gift of righteousness

1) God’s Gospel with its gift of righteousness

God’s Gospel deals with His Son. This is the whole written Word from Genesis to the last book of the New Testament i.e. the Book of Revelation. To interpret the term “Son” or (God’s son) exhaustively, we should treat practically everything that is said in the entire Bible. God’s son neither starts with the Birth of Jesus nor ends with His earthly career. It deals with His divine nature. God makes His own revelation of His Son, as having a divine nature from eternity to eternity and as such is the meaning of the Son. The two descriptions of the Son who is at the very heart of God’s Gospel are:

1. i) The Promise
2. ii) The Fulfillment

The Promise and the Fulfillment consist of:

• • His entrance into the state of humiliation for His saving work
• • Then as the Savior – He entered His state of exaltation, a state in which He is in now.

Both rest on His existence as a Son from all eternity. These two states form the very heart of God’s Gospel to the world in its apostleship.

1. a) His State of Humiliation – Grace (the saving power)

Thus He who is God became man without ceasing to be God, without change in His Deity, with no connotation of sin, but only that of limitation and weakness of our human nature. He came out of David’s seed as the Messiah and thus all Messianic promises centered in Him pointing to the Kingly features in which He now rules in heaven, in full glory enthroned upon Him. The climax of which was His death on the Cross, He finished the Father’s work on earth in His holy obedience and thus the Father glorified Him in power. This is God’s power that saves man from sin and death –
the very power of grace.

1. b) His glorified state (our confession – Lord) the confession by which we become slaves.

He was crowned with glory and honor (in power) because of His suffering and death (Hebrews 2:9) and these passages run throughout every Scripture statement regarding the two states of Christ. With these states we know the substance and contents of the Promised Gospel which Paul was commissioned to preach; namely;

“The Son’s Name” which consists of both states of humiliation and exaltation (as Savior,) as it was confessed by all the slaves who bowed to it in the “obedience of faith” – The Name is “Our Lord.”

The expression “Our Lord” contains the full confession and acknowledgment of God’s Son, by this Lordship we refer to as the One – “who owns us” has purchased and won us. On whom all our trust and our obedience depend. This – His Holy obedience is what makes all believers slaves of Jesus Christ. Truly we are His property in the true sense of the word as indeed an earthly slave is owned by an earthly master – this ever then serves as a deem picture of our slavery to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The term “Jesus” signifies the “Person,” a reference to His Divine human nature during His humiliation, and “Christ” – a reference to His office; anointed our Prophet, High Priest and King all in one – in His saving capacity. This One is Paul’s blessed Master under whom like Paul, all Romans and all believers have become slaves because He has paid the price of sin and death and thus saved us all including the Romans. Those who have no will of their own, except that of their Lord Christ who has saved them with His saving work, (Grace) with His sacrificial death.

1. c) Apostleship – those with spiritual gift as witnesses of the author, owner and sender, with their obedience of faith.

Over and above this wonderful Power of Grace by which we all become slaves of Christ, which also made Paul one of the slaves, there is another spiritual gift – favor, Grace that made Paul and the other twelve stand out more: as witnesses of the Power of God’s Gospel “the humiliation and exaltation of God’s Son to which Paul and the other Apostles were witnesses. As a result of this witness, Paul writes: “not as one being another slave of Christ but as an Apostle i.e. one who is called by Jesus Christ, a reference to an immediate call (i.e. a direct contact with Jesus Christ) – this made Paul one of the twelve. These twelve were set apart for “God’s Gospel” meaning, as witnesses of the author, owner and sender.

They are witnesses of the authority of the Word as God’s very own – as the Good News and the Apostles being the ones to whom the message was committed (whole heartedly dedicated.) This Good news was first committed to the Prophets in a form of advance promise. It was the very promise of God which the Prophets were chosen to convey – the message about the fulfillment to come. This fulfillment (the promised Salvation) was accomplished in Jesus Christ and these Apostles had to follow with the same identical Gospel message – same contents but now with the addition of the great fulfillment.

The Promises were conveyed in Words, we still have the words in writing – “in black and white” in the Holy Writings – a fully reliable medium for conveying His Promises to all men. And God enabled the Prophets and finally also the Apostles to transmit His words exactly as He wanted it transmitted. This is the verbal “inspiration” a simple fact. God speaks in and through these especially appointed men (Prophets and Apostles) and they reach back to Adam, and all exist for the Holy Promise – i.e. for Salvation – a reference to God’s son who is “The Promise and Fulfillment” and this is what Paul refers to as the Grace and Apostleship.

The Apostleship (is this office) with its especially called bearers who are the Lord’s gift to the entire Church plus the actual gift of Grace. This office – its main aim and purpose is for obedience of faith among all nations. It is this Apostleship which achieves Salvation.

The congregation in Rome had already received the Apostolic Gospel –the result of which was God’s gift of righteousness through faith with its visible effect of unity which was advertised throughout the world to which Paul writes as an Apostle – with his heart drawn by the power and the same great desire and interest in extending the faith’s obedience among all nations. This is the Son’s Gospel.

2) The Son’s Gospel - The Obedience of Faith

We have God’s Gospel with the Savior, our Lord as its content and the Apostleship which transmits its power through the obedience of faith and both are known as Grace. All believers have received Grace and are thus called beloved or saints. The other name for this Grace is “God’s Love” as constituting His Son. Love or Grace is a specific term referring to God’s knowledge which is also God’s son, which knowledge bestows the power of grace or Christ’s righteousness through faith. The knowledge of God’s Son with his obedience of faith filled Paul’s heart with full fervor (intense and passionate feeling) for the Romans, though he had never met them. In the same manner this congregation was to feel exactly the same. When they received the apostolic letter, both Paul and the Romans felt real contact with each other’s soul because they both received the great undeserved gift of grace.

The Effect of the power of grace – it draws believers together. See the contents of Paul’s heart: you only need to look at the contents of the letter and how he reveals himself to them. This deep feeling is the result of a new life as a result of his connection with the Gospel and wished the Romans to have the same gift of the new life. It is the inner spiritual life and contact with God – that underlies all his apostolic work as it ought to underlie the work of all believers – “I serve in my spirit” in connection with the Gospel of His Son. This is Paul’s personal worship in his own spirit in prayer. It is his personal spiritual connection with the Gospel of the Son – spiritual gift which draws all believers in one body.

Here the Son’s Gospel enables Paul’s spirit to draw near to God. You draw near to God by drawing near to His beloved people in a spiritual manner, by having the same knowledge of God’s Gospel, resulting into a spiritual life which is expressed in confession, love and unity, which is the Son’s Gospel with its power of grace. The purpose of spiritual drawing is to impart spiritual gifts to each other. For their confirmation: this is not a one sided act, it always has a mutual effect –
upon him who imparts as upon him who receives. Thus for Paul to confirm others means something also for him, namely; jointly being comforted – with them. The confirming cannot be done without bringing about the other. This confirming is increase in the spiritual power which is ever manifested in confession, love and unity – all of which is subjective faith.

See the sequence and development of this power of God’s love “faith.” In Vs. 5, Paul united himself to the Romans by speaking of what “we” (the Romans and Paul) received (past) –
the Gospel of God. But in Vs. 12, here he speaks of what he and the Romans jointly are to receive (future,) that is, being jointly comforted, encouraged, and cheered in a blessed, joint experience, i.e. through each other’s faith – both yours and mine in expectation of Paul’s visit;

• • This faith in its expression reveals itself by means of confession, love and unity or Salvation.
• • It is true, that one of the happy experiences of Paul’s ministry is this enjoyment of comfort which Paul looked forward to with such desire and it is sweeter because of the mutuality it involves;
• • He prayed constantly to get to Rome, petitioned that God would soon shape His course to reality.
• • Grace as a power makes us all believers; debtors of Grace. In case of Paul, to fulfill the official apostolic purpose to obtain some fruit of his apostolic labors in the great city before going to Spain – Rome was the center of the world.
• • One nation but this obligation extended to other nations as well, the fruit is always faith which is kindled by the same power of grace.

The Gospel made him a debtor to both the educated and the uneducated, to all races – both Black and White in each nation. This he did not only in Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia in the region of Achaia and Macedonia. His apostleship made him the great debtor who could discharge his heavy obligation only in Gospel coin.

Preaching “the Gospel” is God’s chosen strategy for “salvation” – through faith i.e. for all those believing to be saved. This strategy is what the world regards as “foolishness;” because they have chosen and preferred political systems governed by laws, pressure groups and the like, yet law is the very one for revealing sin and our condemnation through the law. The Gospel is what the whole world needs, the same preaching which makes wise the simple – the supreme requirement. “Debtor” is the compulsion under which Paul worked – to obtain fruit – the fruit of believing souls through which God’s righteousness is acquired and it is this righteousness which is to unify the world.

3) God’s gift of Righteousness through faith

The great successful men of the world are found in big cities of this world – and that’s where we all aspire to be, where we want to finish off our lives. These cities are the centers of power, glory, magnificence and riches and these are the earthly attractions which captivate all souls of men. One might draw the strongest contrast between these attractions and the Gospel.

The Gospel is no longer attractive and powerful as it was in Paul’s day – man is no longer truly conscious of what the Gospel really is – all these earthly things have completely blindfolded man in such a manner that he has completely failed to see the destructive power of sin and hence our connection to the Creator and His verdict of death because of the ungodliness of the world. Sin and death is the one proof that all men are under the power of Satan, and are living in his kingdom of darkness – the earthly glory and attractions:

• • Being completely blindfolded by the earthly attractions, man does not realize the source of his suffering and death there is in this world.
• • All the suffering and death do not serve as signals of danger to man anymore and are meaningless to him and they do not reveal that suffering and death are a result of sin which can be removed only by the Gospel.
• • Man is living under the power of darkness yet he is not aware of God’s adverse verdict of eternal death nor does he realize God’s gracious gift of grace which alone removes his sinful condition through faith in God’s Gospel. It is thus we say the World belongs to the devil. And the world with all its attractions offers no credible solution to save mankind. The Gospel is God’s power of – His righteousness through faith alone which saves mankind from Sin and death.
• • To reject the Gospel is thus to reject being saved from eternal death.
• • It is to desire death more than life everlasting.
• • It is to be blinded by the earthly lures more than the Gospel righteousness.
• • In the things of the world, its power, glory and magnificence, there is no power even to save one little bit.
• • The Gospel snatches sinners away from Satan’s kingdom of darkness and doom by the gift of God’s righteousness through faith.
• • This is the view of the Son’s Gospel that must shine out gloriously, draw and attract us so that we too may be saved.

How does this Son’s Gospel save?

The Gospel saves when preached, when it comes into contact with us and when it kindles faith i.e. when one puts his entire trust in what it offers. It is the very nature of the Gospel to make him who hears it a “believer” – thereby saving him. We need to understand well what the Gospel is, namely; it is not only the Truth and Divine reality – it is the most blessed Truth in the Universe – the most personal truth for every sinner which reaches into the soul in order to save man from the curse and the doom of his sin, by making you and me God’s own through faith in Jesus Christ.

The truth above all truth is the Divine saving truth which includes faith, confidence and trust. Woe unto him who rejects this truth and trusts the lie! Being saved is simple (easy to understand) by working confidence in the heart, the Gospel bestows God’s righteousness.

Faith is the one door to Salvation – by getting into contact with the Gospel, the heart becomes enlightened then assured and finally confident – all of which constitute God’s righteousness and in this manner the Gospel saves.

This righteousness is justification by faith alone

In fact, both God’s wrath and His Righteousness are revealed in this Gospel.

• • The one (the wrath) is in law which condemns – and the other the Gospel that saves. God’s righteousness had to be revealed otherwise none of us would know anything about it.
• • For the only righteousness which man can think of is man’s own self-made righteousness.

The Righteousness of God is entirely an attribute of God. God only bestows the status of His righteous verdict to those who have believed. This status of righteousness never springs from any works of ours, nor does it spring from any good moral behavior – it is God’s verdict of righteousness upon a sinner. On the basis of this personal justification is Christ’s blood and righteousness which became effective the day He died and rose again.

It was the happiest day of Luther’s life when he discovered that “God’s Righteousness” as used in the Epistle to the Romans means God’s verdict of righteousness upon a believer. This joy is ours today – to all believers – a status of righteousness into which faith and the believer are placed by God’s verdict of righteousness.

This is the doctrine of justification by faith alone and this is the sum of God’s Gospel. This righteousness is the power of grace which the Gospel offers as a gift to everyone who believes. This is God’s Righteousness out of faith unto faith. Revealing takes place in the preached Gospel in connection with the saving power of the preached Gospel which is so efficient in creating faith in the heart. Man is ever inclined to discount faith, to elevate something else, but God centers everything in the faith he creates by the Gospel righteousness.

This first part of the chapter reveals a summary of God’s Gospel of grace with its righteousness. The next part of the chapter reveals man’s sinfulness with its wrath which the Law reveals. The Law is God’s medium to reveal the sinfulness of man (the ungodliness) for which all humanity was condemned to death.