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The Apostle Paul's Epistle
to the Romans |
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Chapter 1
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Perhaps the first thing we should note, as we
begin our study of the Apostle Paul’s
magnificent epistle to the Romans, is that the
Roman community of believers was not founded by
any of the apostles. The community of believers
in Rome began subsequent to the out-pouring of
the Spirit in Acts 2. While there was
already a pre-existing Jewish community, it
wasn't until some of those Jewish people made
the long journey from Rome to Jerusalem for
Shavuot that there began a segment of the Roman
Jewish populace that followed Yeshua. The group
of Jewish people that came from Rome would never
forget that year’s Shavuot! Empowered and
invigorated by the Spirit, these Jews from Rome
excitedly began to assembly as a sub-community
within the greater synagogue community of Rome.
As we study this epistle, we must keep in mind
that the Apostle Paul is addressing more than
just believing Gentiles, as is commonly assumed
in most commentaries. Rather, Paul was
addressing at least five types of people:
Jews
who had accepted Yeshua as the Messiah
Jews
who had not yet accepted Yeshua as the Messiah
Non-Jewish converts to Judaism who had not yet
accepted Yeshua as Messiah
Non-Jews who were already familiar with the
synagogue who had accepted Yeshua as the Messiah
Non-Jews who were not familiar with the
synagogue and were essentially pagans but had
now accepted Yeshua as the Messiah
All of these groups were meeting within the
structure of the established synagogue
community. It would be anachronistic to
interpret this epistle under the assumption that
there were churches in Rome as if the Jewish
believers had established a new religion. While
this was to happen not long after the Apostolic
community died out, it had not yet happened at
the time of the writing of this epistle. It is
possible, however, that this decisive mentality
was already beginning to form in the minds of
the non-Jewish believers and much of the epistle
was written to correct such erroneous thinking.
1Paul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yeshua,
called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel
of God,
Paul, an Israelite descended from the tribe of
Benjamin, who's name was also Sha'ul, was a
life-long Pharisee, who in his youth was trained
by the great sage Rabbi Gamaliel. Though he was
initially and aggressively against the followers
of Yeshua, after his extraordinary encounter
with the Messiah on the road to Damascus, Paul
became the most outspoken proponent of Yeshua's
messiahship. Not only that, as we'll see, Paul
became the primary messenger to bring the Good
News ("gospel") message to the non-Jewish world.
Paul described himself as a "bond-servant of
Messiah Yeshua." Normally, the being a slave is
thought of as a degraded position but, as the
Torah shows, there are circumstances when
someone would want to be a willing slave (cf.
Exodus 21:5-6). Not only that, the Master is
known as the "servant of the LORD" and therefore
provides the perfect example of the type of
humility we are to display in our service to
God. Paul was called as an apostle, with such a
calling being an effectual call from God. In
other words, because God is the One doing the
calling, He gives us the ability to positively
respond. To be an apostle is to be a messenger
sent on a mission by a greater authority. In
this case, Paul was sent by the Master to the
nations to bring about the obedience of faith
(cf. Acts 22:21). The historic Christian
perspective is that Israel failed in its calling
to be a light to the nations and therefore gave
the responsibility to a new people, the Church.
This is inaccurate because Paul and all of the
other Apostles were Israelites. Since the
Apostles, specifically Paul, did not intend to
begin a new religion but instead bring about the
obedience of faith (which includes obedience to
Torah) among the Gentiles, they fulfilled the
calling of Israel perfectly. The Master Yeshua
and His Apostles called their message the "good
news," most likely a phrase taken from Isaiah
61:1, where the Messiah is prophesied as
being a bearer of good news. As we've
established in other studies, the good news is
essentially all of God's revealed truth. While
the gospel could be distilled down into a few
sentences, it would be impossible to disconnect
any part from the whole. In other words, while
you might say that the gospel is a message about
salvation through faith in the Messiah; this
does not mean that repentance isn't a major
aspect of the gospel as well. In this way, we
see that Paul, here, is speaking consistently,
for the gospel should be understood as being as
synonymous with bringing about the obedience of
faith among the nations. Interestingly, the word
"pharisee" literally refers to being "set
apart," therefore it's possible that Paul is
making a play on his religious background,
implying that he is a Pharisee for the gospel of
God.
2which He promised beforehand through His
prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His
Son, who was born of a descendant of David
according to the flesh, 4who was declared the
Son of God with power by the resurrection from
the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness,
Yeshua the Messiah our Master,
The coming of the Messiah, the redemptive work
He accomplished and the subsequent proclamation
of the gospel among the nations were all
promised beforehand through the Prophets in the
Tanakh. The message Paul proclaimed was not
something different from what the Tanakh taught
regarding God's plan of salvation. Paul's
message was the declaration that God was being
faithful to His promises made to Israel in the
Tanakh and that through these fulfilled
promises, salvation was also available to those
among the nations. The good news message of God
is, of course, a message concerning God's Son,
Yeshua the Messiah. God had previously made an
eternal covenant with David, promising that the
Messiah would come from his dynasty (cf. 2
Kings 7:8-17). As a result, Paul emphasized
Yeshua's claim to
be Messiah
by highlighting
the fact that Yeshua is a descendant of David
according to the flesh.
Though a son of
David, Yeshua is the Son of God by virtue of His
miraculous birth, in that He was generated
directly by God in Miriam (cf. Luke 1:35).
However, it wasn't until His resurrection that
it was made evident who He really was. Additionally, Paul also mentions
that the resurrection power came from the Holy
Spirit. As we'll see later in this epistle, it's
the Holy Spirit that enables mankind to come to
know and obey God. Paul sought to connect the
resurrection with our own personal
transformation in salvation, the Holy Spirit
being the common denominator.
5through whom we have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among all the Gentiles for His name's
sake, 6among whom you also are the called of
Yeshua Messiah; 7to all who are beloved of God
in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Master Yeshua
the Messiah.
Through Yeshua, the Son, we received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among the nations. Specifically, Paul
referred to himself and the other Apostles here.
Nevertheless, though we are not Apostles, we do
share in their work. Firstly, we receive grace,
for without grace we would not be able to even
embrace God, let alone do the work He expects of
us. By that grace, we receive apostleship, which
refers to the work of proclaiming and teaching
the Scriptures on behalf of the Messiah. Again,
our ministry of apostleship is not in the
official sense to which Paul referred to here
but we do continue the work of the Apostles
under their authority, that is, by following the
writings they left us. There are many opinions
of how the phrase "obedience of faith" should be
understood. Since faith itself is a free gift
from God, it would appear that the work of the
apostles, specifically Paul, was to guide the
new non-Jewish believers into obedience that
such faith requires. In other words, if the
non-Jewish believers were to be integrated into
the existing Jewish communities, they would need
to be instructed on the obedience that their
faith requires of them since obedience and faith
are two sides of the same coin. This obedience
of faith produced among the Gentiles would be
for the sake of the Master's name. Since the
Messianic expectation was that the Torah would
go forth from Zion, resulting in the nations
would begin to worship and serve the God of
Israel, when Gentiles keep Torah in the name of
Yeshua, they strengthen His claim to be the
Messiah in the eyes of the rest of Israel. This
sentiment is repeated later in chapter
11:13-14, when Paul said that he magnified
his ministry among the Gentiles, so as to move
his fellow Jews to jealousy. Some of those,
among the Gentiles, to whom Paul sought to bring
about the obedience of faith were those in Rome.
Like Paul's calling to be an Apostle, this
calling is the effectual call to salvation by
God Himself; the call to salvation is an
irresistible call. Obviously, Paul was not
addressing this epistle to absolutely everyone
in Rome but to those who are "beloved of God,"
more specifically, those called as saints; these
phrases simply qualify that this epistle was
written to genuine believers. He also added his
usual greeting: "grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Master Yeshua the Messiah."
This is a beautiful way of encapsulating the
truth that by God's grace, through the finished
work of the Messiah, we can experience His
shalom, both with God and our fellow man.
8First, I thank my God through Yeshua the
Messiah for you all, because your faith is being
proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9For God,
whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of
the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how
unceasingly I make mention of you, 10always in
my prayers making request, if perhaps now at
last by the will of God I may succeed in coming
to you.
After the prologue of the first seven verses,
Paul then informed the Roman community of his
gratefulness for them. Notice that Paul thanked
God through Yeshua the Messiah, emphasizing the
mediatory position Yeshua occupies. Paul's
gratefulness was a result of the fact that the
news of the existence of believers in the
capital city of the Gentile world had reached
the known-world. No doubt this news was a source
of righteous pride for believers all over the
world, knowing that the Master was being
followed even in the antithesis to Jerusalem,
Rome. Specifically, chapter 16 verse 19 confirms
that the "report of [their] obedience [had]
reached to all," that is, non-Jews had come to
faith in Messiah and were living lives of
obedience to God's word. Though this is
certainly something to rejoice over, Paul did
not hesitate to remind the Roman believers that
he still unceasingly prayed for them, a fact
that implies both encouragement and a sense of
rebuke. Since Paul did not know the Roman
believers personally, he appeals to the fact
that God was his witness that he continually
prayed for them. Once again, as we saw in our
studies of Paul's other epistles, Paul claimed
to pray unceasingly. To pray without ceasing or
continually refers to the praying at the
set-times that correspond to Temple service, a
practice of daily prayer that the Jewish people
and many believing Gentiles still observe. In
appealing to God as his witness, Paul explained
that he served God in his spirit. To serve God
in spirit refers to a whole-hearted service, not
just an external or mechanical service. In other
words, Paul's persistence in proclaiming the
gospel came as a result of his sincere, inward
devotion to God. In addition to his prayers,
Paul's desire was also to actually go to Rome,
so that he could instruct and guide them in
person.
11For I long to see you so that I may impart
some spiritual gift to you, that you may be
established; 12that is, that I may be encouraged
together with you while among you, each of us by
the other's faith, both yours and mine.
We see here that Paul greatly desired to see the
believers in Rome, primarily so that he could
"impart some spiritual gift" to them. This
evidenced the genuineness of Paul's love for
believers everywhere, for he had most likely not
met most of the community in Rome. The word
"impart," in the Greek, has the sense of sharing
something; in this case, Paul wanted to share a
spiritual gift. The phrase "spiritual gift" is a
translation of the Greek word "charisma," which
more literally means "a gift of grace" or "a
gift of favour." This Greek word is used
elsewhere in this epistle to refer to the
Messiah Himself, the blessings God has bestowed
upon Israel and the various gifts the Spirit
gives to Believers in the local community (cf.
Romans 6:23, 11:29, 12:6). Therefore, we
can conclude that the word "charisma" simply
refers to an unmerited gift and is more fully
defined by the context it is used in. In this
case, Paul used it in a general sense but since
the intended result was that the Roman believers
would be established, he most likely referred to
the giving of valuable instruction in the
Scriptures and in halachah. In other words, what
Paul intended to give them was the specific
instructions on how to become established both
in their faith individually and in regards to
how to become established within the larger
community of the synagogue. Paul then clarified,
and displayed humility, by implying that his
visit to them would not only be beneficial for
the community but Paul too would be encouraged.
In other words, he didn't want the believers in
Rome to get the impression that he considered
himself a "big shot" and sought to convey that
his visit would consist of mutual encouragement.
13I do not want you to be unaware, brethren,
that often I have planned to come to you (and
have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain
some fruit among you also, even as among the
rest of the Gentiles.
The phrase "I do not want you to be unaware"
emphasized Paul's intention that the Roman
believers not misunderstand the meaning of what
he wrote to them. Specifically, he wanted them
to know that he had planned to visit them but he
had been prevented up to that point. It would
appear that he had been prevented due to his
ministry duties elsewhere (cf. Romans 15:22
and surrounding context). Paul desired to go to
Rome so that he could obtain fruit among them.
In what way should we understand the word
"fruit" here? In other places, the word fruit
refers to the outworking of the Spirit in a
person's life, resulting in godly attitudes and
action (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). It could
also refer to new believers, meaning that if
Paul were to go to Rome, he could proclaim the
gospel, resulting in more Gentiles coming to
faith. Ultimately, the word fruit here could
refer to both, as they go hand-in-hand. For
without first coming to faith, a person will not
be able to continue on in the obedience that
such faith produces. Paul's goal was to see
God's power produce both faith and obedience in
Rome, as he had seen it happen among the rest of
the Gentiles. We should take a moment to
consider the word "gentile." The Greek word
behind the word gentile is "ethnos" (pl.
ethnoi), from which we get the English
word "ethnic." The word itself literally refers
to "nation" or "ethnicity" and is used to denote
several things in the Bible. Its Hebrew
equivalent, goy (pl. goyim) is
used to describe both Israel and the nations of
the earth. Most commonly, though, the term
"gentile" simply refers to a non-Israelite/Jew.
Additionally, the term could also carry the
sense of "pagan," referring to the fact that
most of the nations of the earth do not worship
or follow the God of Israel. With all of this in
mind, we should make sure to consider the
context when this term is used, so as to
understand the connotation the author intended.
Here, it's obvious that used it to denote those
who are not Jewish who have come out of the
pagan nations of the world.
14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to
barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15So, for my part, I am eager to preach the
gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Paul then further explained the Gentile world by
noting that he was under obligation to both
Greeks and barbarians. Paul was under obligation
because he was a bond-servant of the Messiah
(cf. 1:1). Understanding that he no
longer lived for himself but instead lived only
for God and the commission that was placed upon
him by the Master, that is, to proclaim and
teach the truth to non-Israelites of the world.
Paul further defines the two extremes within the
Gentile world, the wise and the foolish. The
Greeks considered themselves the educated, while
the rest of the world was considered to be
barbaric. When a Greek encountered a person
speaking a different language, to them it would
sound like unintelligible babbling, as if they
were saying "bar bar bar;" hence the term
"barbarian." So, in essence, Paul understood
that his mission was to bring truth to both
spectrums of the Gentile world and this included
Rome. As far as he was concerned, Rome was the
pinnacle of the Gentile world; the proclamation
of the gospel in Rome would be the apex of
Paul’s ministry.
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it
is the power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek.
Paul was eager to proclaim the good news message
to those in Rome because he knew that the gospel
message works in concert with the power of God
to produce salvation. The power that comes with
the proclamation of the gospel is precisely the
reason why Paul was not ashamed of it. Though
from a human perspective the message of the
gospel could be a stumbling block or foolishness
(cf. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25), when coupled with
the regenerative work of the Spirit, the gospel
message produces life-changing results. This is
exactly why Paul boldly and unashamedly
proclaimed the gospel. As already implied, the
gospel message is not the power of God to
produce salvation for those who do not believe
but only for those who believe, because God has
predestined only an elect few to be saved. To
one person, the gospel is, at best, simply a
historical reality but to another, a person whom
God has elected for salvation, it completely
changes their heart, resulting in a transformed
life. Furthermore, the "everyone who believes"
is made up of both and Jews and Greeks, with the
term "Greeks" referring to the non-Jewish world
as a whole. Though in each city,
chronologically, Paul would proclaim the gospel
first to the Jews and then later to the
non-Jews, the use of the word "first" here (the
Greek word "protos") refers not to chronology
but to priority. This does not mean that Jewish
people have priority in terms of merit, as if
they inherently deserve the message of the
gospel. Rather, because God has made loving
promises to the Fathers, the native-born among
the people of Israel have first priority in
regards to the both the receiving and the
outworking of the gospel. Not only that, so long
as the gospel is primarily tied to the Jewish
people, the Scriptures, specifically the Torah,
remain an absolutely vital component of the life
of obedience that results from receiving the
gospel. In this way, the non-Jewish person can
also receive the gospel and along with the
Jewish person live out the righteousness of God. |
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17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE
RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
This is why Paul then explained that in the
gospel the righteousness of God is revealed,
which primarily refers to the method with which
God declares people righteous. By trusting in
the sacrificial work of the Messiah, a person is
declared legally righteous. We must remember
though that in addition to this positional
righteousness, there is also a practical
righteousness that we are obligated to in this
life. This is why Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4,
which declares that a righteous person lives by
faith. As we'll see, being declared righteous is
a result of faith and faith itself refers both
to an internal (expressed through belief) and
external (expressed through action) trust in
God. Though there are many opinions as to what
the phrase "faith to faith" refers to, it very
well could be that Paul is making a distinction
between, and also coupling, the initial faith a
person places in God and the continuing
faithfulness that person displays by living an
obedient life. Let’s not forget that the very
ability to have faith and continue in that faith
comes from God and is given to us as an act of
His immense graciousness. Nevertheless, an
interpretive paraphrase for this verse could
be:
"In the gospel message, the way God declares
people righteous is revealed, which begins with
placing one's faith in the Messiah and His
redemptive work and continues in a life of
faithful obedience to His commandments; this is
why Habakkuk declares that a righteous person
lives by faith, for he both lives because God
has declared him righteous and he subsequently
lives out that righteousness through faithful
obedience."
18For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness,
While for God’s elect the gospel reveals the
righteousness of God, for the unbeliever, the
wrath of God is revealed. The gospel message
declares that mankind is sinful and is
completely helpless before a pure and holy God.
Therefore, unless God applies the finished work
of the Messiah for the atonement of one’s sins,
the sinner has nothing to expect but wrath from
God. The additional phrase “from heaven” refers
to the “court of heaven,” a concept found all
throughout the rabbinic literature to refer both
to judgement of our actions in this life but
also in the final judgement in the World to
Come. God’s wrath is revealed against
ungodliness and unrighteousness, specifically
from men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness. One might ask what kind of
ungodliness and unrighteousness Paul referred to
here or what kind of unrighteousness suppresses
the truth but the reality is that God’s wrath is
revealed against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness no matter how insignificant we
might think something might be. Likewise, all
unrighteousness, that is, all disobedience to
God’s righteous commandments, suppresses the
truth. The commandments of God define and
describe God’s righteousness, therefore when one
sins, he obscures the righteousness of God. This
is why we look to our Master Yeshua for our
example of righteousness; Yeshua perfectly kept
all of God’s commandments and therefore fully
revealed the Father to the world. Unlike our
Master, sinful man distorts the image of God and
unless God graciously redeems him, he will
experience God’s wrath, both in this life and
the one to come.
19because that which is known about God is
evident within them; for God made it evident to
them. 20For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so that
they are without excuse.
In the coming verses and chapters of this
epistle, we'll discover that Paul sought to
categorically prove that all of mankind is under
God's condemnation. No matter whether you have
God's direct revelation in Scripture, like the
Jews (and later, Christians), or whether you
don't, like the pagans, all human beings are
guilty of sin. Specifically for the unbelieving
Gentile world, why is God justified in His wrath
against them? God is justified in His wrath
because that which is known about God is evident
within them and, not only that, God has made it
evident to them. That which is known about God
does not refer to the His self-disclosed
revelation found in Scripture but rather the
things that can be inferred naturally. For
example, each human being possesses
intrinsically the ability to think, create,
reason and even, on a basic level, love. These
attributes cannot be explained on an empirical
scientific level and beg the necessity of a
Higher Being. If that weren't enough, every
aspect of God's incredibly intricate creation
proclaims that there is something above us, that
there is a Creator. This was done purposefully
by God to reveal Himself to the nations of the
earth. All pagan cultures possess some sort of
concept of a supreme God; a pagan culture,
despite it's propensity to worship false gods,
knows that there is a supreme Deity. This is
evident in Acts 17:22 when Paul visited
Mars Hill and the people of Athens had an idol
set up for "an unknown god."
To further solidify his point, Paul explained
that since the creation of the world, that is,
as long as man has been around, God has been
evident. The paradoxical reality that God's
invisible attributes, His power and nature, have
been clearly seen is something that can be
attested to every time we see the wonders of
nature. Whether it be a mountainous landscape or
the great falls of Niagara, one cannot help but
feel that there is someone beyond us, someone
who's infinitely more powerful than we are.
Therefore when man rejects God, the creation
itself witnesses against them; mankind can never
say "God never revealed Himself to me," for even
the one who has never heard the Scriptures has
at least the creation itself against him.
21For even though they knew God, they did not
honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became
futile in their speculations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise,
they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of
the incorruptible God for an image in the form
of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed
animals and crawling creatures.
Despite the passive revelation God has made
through things like nature, the consistent
response from man is rebellion against and
rejection of God. To honour God is to esteem Him
for who He is: the only true God, the Creator
and the Saviour of mankind. Practically, this is
lived out by a life of gratitude, characterized
by obedience to God's commandments. Rebellious
mankind neither esteems nor gives thanks to God
but instead is futile in their speculations. The
phrase "futile in their speculations" is
connected to the subsequent phrase, "their
foolish heart was darkened." In other words,
since sinful man's response to the revelation of
God is one of rebellion, they become lost in a
state of trivial imagination, which is really
just a result of a darkened heart, that is, a
heart that cannot perceive God. In their futile
imaginations, they profess to be wise but, in
reality, become fools. Such foolishness is
evident in the fact that instead of glorifying
the incorruptible God, they worship images. Paul
listed the various kinds of idols extant in his
day, but the type of idol is not really in view
here. Rather the emphasis is on man, that he
would be so foolish as to deny the reality of
the Supreme God and instead subject himself to
something even less than man, namely, statues.
24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts
of their hearts to impurity, so that their
bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For
they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and
worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
As a result of man's rejection of the revelation
God has provided, He then abandons them to their
own lustful desires. The phrase "gave them over"
is a translation of the Greek word "paradidomi,"
which means "to hand over" or "to deliver."
There is a sense that God is not simply leaving
the rebellious man to himself but rather that He
is actually giving him over to, in this case,
the lusts of their hearts. Notice, however, that
the lusts belong to man's sinful heart, so, in
this way, God is not leading people to sin but
he's simply providing sinful man with what he
wants: the opportunity to sin. Since this text
does not imply that God gives them over to the
lust of their hearts forever, we can presume
that, like the phrase "handed over to Satan,"
there is a glimmer of mercy associated. In other
words, if the sinner is plunged into their
lustful desires, it may be that for the first
time they will have a true sense of the
depravity of their state and will come to
repentance. Nevertheless, here, God gives
rebellious man over to his desires, with
impurity resulting. It would appear that sexual
impurity is implied here, for Paul then explains
that such impurity dishonours their bodies;
similar phraseology is used elsewhere by Paul to
refer to sexual sin (cf. 1 Corinthians
6:12-20). Whether the rebellious man knows
it or not, they have exchanged the truth of God
and exchanged it for a lie. In the Greek, the
definite article ("the") precedes the word
"lie," indicating that Paul had a specific lie
in mind. It's possible though, that "the lie"
refers to simply not recognizing God for who He
is, which can obviously encompass a broad range
of things. Therefore, the phrase "truth of God"
should be understood as referring to truth about
or in relation to God. Such truth can only found
in the Scriptures. The exchange of this truth
can only result in some form of idolatry, that
is, the worship and service of creation rather
than the Creator. Paul had just previously
referred to sexual sin and will so again in the
following verses, so we see that Paul believed
that sexual impurity was deeply connected to the
sin of idolatry, for sexual sin exalts man while
degrading the image of God. Paul then couldn't
help but to sanctify God's name, for he did not
want to let the worship of idols, even in
writing, be on the same level as the worship of
the one true God. Paul accomplished this by
giving a short bracha (a liturgical
blessing), using the phrase "who is blessed
forever." This type of thing is found
consistently in the Talmudic literature, though
the sages of the Talmud used the phrase "blessed
be He."
26For this reason God gave them over to
degrading passions; for their women exchanged
the natural function for that which is
unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men
abandoned the natural function of the woman and
burned in their desire toward one another, men
with men committing indecent acts and receiving
in their own persons the due penalty of their
error.
The phrase "for this reason" conveys the thought
that there is a downward regression happening,
as God continues to give men up to their desires
and passions. Again, Paul used the phrase "God
gave them over," referring to the expression of
God's wrath upon rebellious man. In this case,
sinful man is given over to degrading (lit.
dishonourable) passions, which, in this context,
refers to homosexual activity. Notice Paul’s
repeated use of the words “natural” and
“unnatural;” homosexuality is not just a
perversion of sex but an inversion. Both the
rebellious man and the rebellious woman abandon
God’s created order of sexuality (which is
natural) and family by having relations with the
same sex (which is unnatural). Rather than enjoy
the union that God created, a union that secures
the procreation of the human race, they distort
the image of God. Notice the strong language
Paul used to describe the desire homosexual men
have for each other (“burned in their desire
toward one another”). The desire to engage in
homosexual activity can only come from a
depraved, sinful mind; for here we have ample
Scriptural proof that it is simply unnatural.
Their very state is an outworking of the
punishment for their error, the error being that
they have exchanged the truth of God for the lie
(cf. 1:25). Despite what the homosexual movement
wants to propagate, that lifestyle is not a
healthy lifestyle. The homosexual lifestyle is
one based upon a sinful mind and can only
produce more sin.
28And just as they did not see fit to
acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over
to a depraved mind, to do those things which are
not proper, 29being filled with all
unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full
of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they
are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil,
disobedient to parents, 31without understanding,
untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
Once again, Paul repeated the point that man, by
himself, does not see it fit to acknowledge God
and that this rejection only results in further
wrath from God. For the third time Paul used the
phrase "gave them over" and cements the fact
that there is a regression implied here because
man is given over to a depraved mind. A depraved
mind is a mind that is worthless; a mind that
cannot produce any thought, and therefore
action, in accordance with godliness. The result
being that they are filled with all
unrighteousness, doing things which are not
proper. We must ask the question, how does one
know what things are righteous and proper? As
we’ll see in verse 32, we can know what’s
righteous and true by knowing the ordinance of
God. Nevertheless, Paul then went on to give a
litany of sins and sinful behaviour, not
necessarily focusing on anything specific but
perhaps intended to almost overwhelm the
listener with how sinful the depraved mind can
be.
wickedness - referring to delighting in
doing wrong.
greed - which comes from wanting more
than you have and wishing for what you don't
have.
evil – doing wrong, especially towards
others.
full of envy - hating someone for who
they are or what they have.
murder – intentionally killing based on
hate.
strife – always arguing and quarrelling.
deceit – a treacherous liar.
malice – being spiteful and having the
desire to hurt or harm someone.
they are gossips – slandering people
behind their backs.
slanderers – slandering people to their
face.
haters of God – don’t want to have
anything to do with God or His ways.
insolent – having contempt for other and
not caring about them.
arrogant – having an attitude of
superiority.
boastful - vocalizing that attitude of
superiority, especially by bragging.
inventors of evil - coming up with new
ways of doing evil.
disobedient to parents – not obeying your
parents shows a lack of respect for God and His
created order.
without understanding – being without
mental or moral understanding.
untrustworthy – the Greek literally is
“covenant breakers,” that is, someone who can’t
be trusted.
unloving – refers to being without
natural affection for one’s family.
unmerciful – being cruel, ruthless and
without pity.
32and although they know the ordinance of
God, that those who practice such things are
worthy of death, they not only do the same, but
also give hearty approval to those who practice
them.
Once again, Paul alluded to a passive revelation
that all mankind has of God, taking it so far as
to say that all men know the ordinance of God.
The ordinance of God is another way of referring
to the Torah. In chapter 2, Paul will make his
case that both non-Jews and Jews are under the
condemnation of Torah. While the Jew possesses
God’s direct revelation, the pagan possesses a
passive revelation and is therefore held
culpable. Paul’s implication is that all
mankind, even pagans, intrinsically know that
that sin is worthy of death, a fact that the
Torah makes explicit. Perhaps even worse than
simply doing these sinful acts is approving of
others when they do them as well. When sin is
approved of, it spreads and causes entire
communities to eventually endure the wrath of
God. The obvious application we can make, as
believers, is that we should obey the ordinance
of God, the Torah, and instead of receiving
wrath, receive the blessing that comes with such
obedience. |
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