26-0208sc Transcript

(0:04) Well, I guess it’s time to get started, and let’s get started with a prayer. (0:10) Most gracious Heavenly Father, we’re so grateful for the opportunity we have to study your Word. (0:16) We’re grateful for you making it available to us, the things that we need to know (0:21) in order to become righteous in your sight and to be able to be counted as your children.

(0:28) We pray that, as Paul would ask you to bless the congregations that he writes to, (0:35) that you would provide us with understanding and insight and to be able to grasp the contents (0:44) and the important messages that are contained in your Word. (0:49) We ask your blessings in that manner on our study this day in Romans. (0:55) We pray that those who are hearing it will be blessed by it.

(1:03) We pray these things in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen. (1:08) So we’re going to be looking at Romans.

(1:11) So as we prepare to study the book of Romans, we have to apply hermeneutics. (1:20) You know what hermeneutics is? (1:23) It’s a Greek word. (1:26) It is the science of studying the scriptures.

(1:32) And so hermeneutics starts out with the need to know the four questions. (1:39) Who, what, where, and why. (1:41) And as we look at this particular book, we’re going to delve into Romans itself.

(1:51) So the first question is, who wrote it? (1:58) Paul did. (2:00) How do we know? (2:01) Because it starts out by saying Paul. (2:06) The scholars would definitely question whether or not Paul really did write this, (2:15) but I’m concerned, certain that it is Paul.

(2:21) And, of course, the next question is, who is he writing to? (2:33) In particular, though, we need to get a little bit deeper into it. (2:38) Who is he writing to? (2:41) The church in Rome. (2:43) But who comprises the church in Rome? (2:51) Mostly what? (2:52) The Gentiles? (2:55) That’s a good question.

(3:08) Yes. (3:10) Probably in 53, 54, somewhere in that area, the Roman Caesar did exile them. (3:19) He told them to get out, get lost.

(3:22) But within three years, a larger contingency of Jews occupied Rome. (3:30) And so they couldn’t keep them out. (3:34) They realized that Rome was benefited by the population of Jews.

(3:42) So they allowed the Jews to come back into it. (3:45) So it is thought that, as we reflect upon it, and hopefully you have read Romans, (3:53) and if you haven’t currently read Romans, you rely on your memory of your past studies of Romans, (4:02) he’s got a problem, and he’s going to be addressing that problem. (4:07) And so when we’re looking at a church that is comprised of Jews and Gentiles, (4:13) and we do not know exactly what the percentage of either one is, (4:18) but basically, who are Gentiles? (4:22) We know he’s writing to Gentiles.

(4:25) And his one concern is their population and their occupation of the church. (4:30) Who are Gentiles? (4:34) Anyone that’s not a Jew. (4:36) So that could be? (4:42) Italians? (4:43) Greeks? (4:47) Anybody else.

(4:49) And so we realize, and of course, one part of the hermeneutics is to be able to draw from other scriptures, (5:00) and to be able to make application of the scriptures, (5:03) because one of the things we’ve got to understand when we’re doing hermeneutics (5:08) is that whatever we come out of an understanding, it needs to be reinforced in the other’s books. (5:20) No contradictions. (5:23) So whatever concepts that we get in studying Romans, (5:27) we need to be able to reinforce it through the studies of, say, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, (5:35) and whether it’s Peter, whether it’s John, because there’s no contradictions.

(5:42) That’s one of the things about the Bible, isn’t it? (5:45) The Bible does not provide contradiction. (5:49) So whatever we come out of, the conclusions we get in studying the book of Romans, (5:55) it has to be also reinforced by the other books. (6:01) So no matter what theology that we come up with, (6:05) it has to be able to be confirmed in the other books also.

(6:12) So you need to understand that 100%. (6:15) So Paul is writing to a church that is comprised of Gentiles and Jews. (6:22) Now, it is thought that the Jewish population in that church is pretty substantial.

(6:33) And so we want to understand that he’s writing concerning some problems. (6:42) And so when you’ve got Jews and Gentiles and a mixture like that, you have some friction. (6:53) One of the things that I realized when we’re out working in our own community (6:59) and trying to get converts and to get proselytes, and what is a proselyte? (7:08) A convert.

But he comes from another faith. (7:13) A proselyte comes from another faith. (7:15) And so when we convert an individual or whoever comes in that door, (7:23) they don’t dump their theology or their background at the door.

(7:31) They’re bringing it in. (7:34) And we’ve got to deal with it. (7:37) Because whatever they believe, they’re going to hold on to.

(7:43) And whatever they believe, they’re going to try to ferret out whether or not we believe it or not. (7:51) And if we have friction here, they believe in one thing and we believe in a different thing, (7:59) we have to study it out. (8:01) And we have to make sure that we’re able to use Scripture to get them, (8:07) or whoever has to make the adjustments, they have to make the adjustments.

(8:13) So Paul is writing to a church that has problems. (8:18) And the subjects that he brings up in his letter, he’s trying to bring harmony. (8:28) He’s trying to harmonize, homogenize, homogenize the church.

(8:34) And he’s trying to get them to come together and to have the common belief. (8:41) So what does he have to do? (8:43) Number one, he has to get the Jew to drop their concept of the Mosaic Law. (8:53) Because the Mosaic Law is not carried into Christianity.

(8:58) But we also have to get the Gentile to drop his faith. (9:03) Whatever his faith happens to be, whether it’s Muslim, whether it’s Hinduism, (9:12) whatever his faith is that he’s bringing with him, (9:15) we’ve got to get him to appreciate the fact that he’s got to drop his faith (9:20) because Christianity does not embrace that either. (9:25) So Paul is going to have to write to this church, (9:29) and the contents of his letters we have to appreciate is the fact that he’s addressing (9:34) a problem that is in that church to try to get them to become Christians (9:42) and to appreciate what God is doing through Jesus (9:45) and what Jesus is doing in our relationship with God.

(9:52) Because the Gentiles' concept of God is not the same as the Jews' concept of God. (9:59) And so what God do we worship? (10:02) We still have a very serious problem when we’re dealing with the public (10:08) because you can come out and go into any place and say, (10:14) I believe in God. (10:17) And they’ll say, ah, I believe in God too.

(10:23) But what God are we believing in? (10:26) When you bring up Jesus, that’s your conflict. (10:29) The minute that you bring up Jesus in the concept, all of a sudden, (10:34) you have resistance because they don’t believe in Jesus. (10:38) They believe something else.

(10:40) And it could be superstition. (10:43) And Paul points out that the Gentiles are superstitious. (10:48) Now, where do we get that concept? (10:52) Acts, the 17th chapter.

(10:55) And he says, I perceive that you are very religious in some translations, (11:04) and in other translations, I perceive that you are very superstitious. (11:09) Let me tell you about this God that you ignorantly worship. (11:14) And so the Gentiles in the Roman church have brought in their concept of God, (11:20) and the Israelites are bringing in their concept of their God.

(11:27) And so when we’re reading the scriptures, what God do we believe in? (11:36) The Jewish God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (11:44) That’s the God we believe in, the God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped and honored. (11:51) That God who made promises to them, and He’s fulfilling those promises to them, (12:02) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, (12:05) He’s not fulfilling the promise He made to the Israelites in the Mosaic law, (12:12) He’s fulfilling the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(12:17) And that’s what He wants us to appreciate, is that He’s fulfilling the promise that He made to their forefathers. (12:28) And that promise is that through His seed, the world will be blessed. (12:34) And so it’s not necessarily the Jewish faith.

(12:40) It should be, but it’s not. (12:43) So He’s got to get them to appreciate the fact that, yes, they were blessed. (12:51) He brings that out, I believe, in the 11th chapter of Romans, (12:55) where He says, do the Jews have anything over anybody else? (13:01) Yes, they do.

Why? (13:03) Because God came to them and told them they were going to be a special people to Him. (13:11) And we see that in the Genesis account. (13:17) But if you look at Psalms 147, the very last verse of Psalms 147 tells us why.

(13:29) Let’s take a look at Psalms 147. (13:49) What does it say there? (14:24) It says, (14:25) So when we’re reading Romans, He talks about the fact that the Gentiles become a law unto themselves. (14:37) So we have to realize that God is specifically dealing with Israel for one reason and one reason only.

(14:49) What is that reason? (14:50) In my mind, the only reason why He’s dealing with Israel the way He’s dealing with them (14:56) is to provide a people that really believe in Him. (15:03) What pleases God? (15:05) I like to ask that question all the time. (15:08) What pleases God? (15:13) Let’s take a look at Hebrews 11 and find out what pleases God.

(15:20) Take a look at Hebrews 11. (15:28) You can find it here in my book. (15:40) No? (15:41) Yeah, well, faith is the answer.

(15:44) But it’s more precise than that. (15:48) Let’s take a look at verse 5. (15:51) When He’s talking about that, what does He say? (15:55) By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death. (16:01) He could not be found because God had taken him away.

(16:06) For before Enoch was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (16:15) And the Hebrew writer tells us what pleases God. (16:19) What pleases God? (16:23) No? (16:24) Be more specific than faith.

(16:29) You’ve got to believe that He is, that He exists, (16:34) and that He’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (16:38) So God is trying His level best to make a people who believe that He really exists. (16:47) Just like He did Abraham.

(16:49) He took Abraham from a nobody who did not believe in Him. (16:54) He was worshipping the same way that everybody else was worshipping at that day. (16:59) And He takes Abraham out, and He makes Abraham a promise, doesn’t He? (17:06) Not just the fact that he was going through his seed and blessed the world.

(17:10) He makes him a specific promise about his life. (17:15) What is the specific promise that He makes about his life? (17:26) He’s going to bless those who bless Him and curse those who curse Him. (17:33) And He’s going to make sure that the land that he travels over is going to be an inheritance to his family.

(17:45) So Abraham then says, okay, and he strikes out. (17:52) His faith, if we can put a number to it, say like 1 to 10, weak and very strong, (18:02) he starts out weak, doesn’t he? (18:07) Why do I say he starts out weak? (18:12) Sure, he doesn’t leave his family and follow God. (18:19) He goes to Haran, and why is he there? (18:24) His dad’s still alive, and he’s got a relative, and he’s not going to leave them.

(18:30) But his dad passes away, and then God says to him, come on, now, let’s go. (18:37) But he still doesn’t believe, does he? (18:41) God told him to leave his family, and he doesn’t leave his family. (18:47) He takes Lot with him, and so here is Lot.

(18:55) He’s got assurance, doesn’t he? (18:57) He’s got a little bit of going for him, got a little assurance that if anything happens to him, (19:04) Lot will come and join in and protect him. (19:07) He’s not trusting God. (19:10) He hasn’t come to the point where he trusts God, and that’s what God wants us to do.

(19:15) And so it takes Abraham to be about 100 years old before God actually says, (19:25) ah, you’re where I want you to be. (19:29) And he considers him to be righteous then, doesn’t he? (19:32) But Lot still, or Abraham doesn’t believe him until God, or Abraham doesn’t believe God (19:44) until he demonstrates it when God says to him, take your son and offer him as a sacrifice. (19:54) That’s when we see that God succeeds in bringing Abraham to a belief, a faith that he is, (20:05) and that he will keep his promise, and he doesn’t lie.

(20:12) He keeps his promise. (20:14) It takes all that that we read about in his history, about passing his wife off as a sister and so on. (20:22) Why does he do that? (20:24) Because he doesn’t believe God promised him.

(20:27) He’s going to curse those who curse him and bless them who bless him, and he’s going to look after him. (20:34) Where are we? (20:38) God is developing us. (20:41) So, I love this.

(20:46) He’s testing. (20:49) Why do we test? (20:52) What’s the purpose in testing? (20:53) To understand where we are. (20:58) Exactly, to understand where we are.

(21:01) We test for driver’s license. (21:04) We test for schools, class, and subjects. (21:09) We test for various things.

(21:12) And the test is to multitask. (21:18) It helps the person understand that he still has an awful lot more to learn, (21:24) because he’s comparing himself to his fellow students, (21:27) and his fellow students might be getting better grades than him, (21:31) and he understands where he is. (21:35) He has to study more and so on.

(21:37) But it also tells the teacher whether he’s getting it across or not, (21:43) and whether or not he is on the same level as his student, (21:48) so that he can bring his student up to where he’s supposed to know. (21:52) What did Jesus say about his disciples? (22:01) They’ll hate you just as much as they hated me. (22:05) And so, he realizes that we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

(22:14) So, as we reflect upon these things, what is the purpose of God dealing with Israel? (22:25) He’s trying to get a group of people who believe that he is, (22:28) and that he’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. (22:32) And we see the prophets coming into existence, the judges. (22:48) What does God say about the Israelites? (22:52) They’re already in the land that he’s promised them, (22:55) but they have not pushed out all of the people that he asked them to.

(23:01) There are still remnants of the Canaanites that are still there. (23:07) Some of them are still very much involved. (23:10) But what does God say about the Israelites? (23:19) Do you remember? (23:23) Right.

(23:25) But, what is God going to do? (23:32) He tells us that he’s going to test. (23:47) That’s the exact words that he uses. (23:50) He’s going to test the Israelites during that period of judges.

(23:56) How does he test them? (24:00) Whether or not they rely on him for their protection. (24:03) Whether or not they rely on him and turn to him (24:07) for the problems that they’re facing with the Phoenicians and so on. (24:17) They’re coming in.

(24:19) In chapter 2. (24:27) I think…​ (24:28) What’d you say? (24:36) Right. (24:56) Go down to verse 20. (25:26) Verse 20.

(25:56) So he’s using them as a test. (26:04) And he tests you and I. (26:06) And he tests us in the problems that we face. (26:11) And Paul’s going to point that out to us, I believe, in chapter 5. (26:18) He’s going to point out to us what testing will provide.

(26:24) Just like James says. (26:26) James says, (26:27) Consider it a joy, my brothers, whenever you are tested for. (26:31) It produces patience.

(26:34) And you become mature and complete, not lacking anything. (26:38) So the test is for us to become mature. (26:43) And so, as he’s reflecting upon this, he’s dealing with a church (26:51) that’s having friction within it, (26:55) and he’s wanting them to become Christians.

(26:59) He wants them to put aside their baggage. (27:05) He wants them to become Christians and believe in Jesus (27:12) and have Jesus as their high priest (27:16) and have Jesus be our priest and sacrifice for our sins and atonement. (27:27) So he’s wanting that to come to pass.

(27:30) So as we reflect upon Paul’s writing, (27:37) he’s going to share with us. (27:40) So it is figured that Paul is going to be writing to the Israelites (27:46) and that it’s roughly around 57 A.D. (27:54) And he doesn’t really get to Rome until roughly 60. (28:00) And one of the reasons why I believe that they’ve come to the age of 57 (28:07) for him writing it is because there at the last, (28:11) in the very last part of the letter, (28:13) he points out the fact that he still has to go to Jerusalem (28:17) to provide the money that had been collected.

(28:21) We read about in 1 Corinthians or 2 Corinthians (28:26) because Paul’s going about the Gentile churches (28:33) and they’re providing money for a famine that is taking place in Jerusalem at that time. (28:41) And he’s still got the money, (28:44) and he says, I have to go to Jerusalem to give them this money yet. (28:50) So it’s roughly around 57 A.D. when Paul’s writing this letter.

(28:57) So he’s got several things that he wants us to appreciate. (29:02) So when we look at this, we understand that they’ve got a problem. (29:11) He hasn’t been there yet, (29:13) and we know, basically, that the church was not established by Thomas or any of the other apostles.

(29:22) We know that it wasn’t established by Peter. (29:26) And when we’re looking at this, some of the information that we come up with, (29:34) Herman Unix invites us and encourages us to go to commentators. (29:40) Now, one of the problems I have with commentators, (29:44) and I try my level best not to really go to commentators, (29:50) mainly because they’re not Christians.

(29:55) They hold on to a doctrine that we don’t necessarily agree with. (30:02) And so some of the conclusions that they come up with, we will not endorse ourselves anyway. (30:08) But there is benefit of looking at commentators, (30:13) because it does help us, because they do their diligence in finding out the background of the church.

(30:22) And so some of the things that I’ve been sharing with you, I got from a commentator. (30:26) I like Barnes. (30:28) Of all the people that I study, I like Barnes.

(30:33) He’s still not a Christian. (30:38) They may come to the subject of baptism, and they will tell you that baptism is important, (30:44) but they’re still not practitioners of baptism. (30:50) And you don’t know whether or not they have been baptized themselves.

(30:55) There’s a good possibility that they probably did baptize, were baptized, (31:01) but they’re not going to change faith. (31:08) Paul’s going to show us how important it is to address what you were just talking about (31:16) when you opened up the class, reconciling Gentiles and Jews. (31:22) Our baptism is death, and Paul addresses that in the 7th chapter, (31:28) after talking about it in the 6th chapter, (31:32) because death do us part.

(31:34) Whatever baggage you were attached to, our baptism, our death to Christ removes all that. (31:45) He’s going to be talking about the law, and it’s going to be important for us to really understand (31:52) the concept of law, and it’s important for us to understand the role sin plays, (32:00) because sin is a factor that is bringing about the problems that we see confronting the Christian, (32:09) or even the world. (32:11) And so, what is the source? What is the nature of sin? (32:15) And we need to understand that.

(32:18) And the same thing is true with faith, understanding the role of faith as opposed to works. (32:26) Now, the law that he’s talking about oftentimes, as you will study Galatians, (32:33) we’re either talking about the law that God put into effect in the Garden of Eden, (32:40) or the law that He put into effect to the Moses in the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai. (32:51) The main thing is, the law that God put into effect in the Garden of Eden is the law we have to be understanding.

(33:02) And so, Paul’s going to, after he points out, I believe it’s going to be in chapter 3 or chapter 4, (33:09) he says, do we nullify the law? (33:18) What does he mean by that? (33:20) And he says, God forbid, yes we do! We uphold the law. (33:24) Why? (33:27) Because the law of sin and death prevails, and death has to be dealt with. (33:40) So, God is dealing with death for Jesus.

(33:46) And He’s upholding the law that He imposed in the Garden of Eden. (33:54) He’s upholding that, and He’s honoring that, (33:58) even though He’s going to be dealing with David, who He forgives, (34:04) Abraham, who He forgives, and the various other individuals that He forgives along the way, (34:13) but, in His mind, He’s already dealt with death, because He’s got Jesus on the cross. (34:24) So it’s important for us to appreciate the role that Paul understands about Christianity.

(34:33) And so it’s important for us to use Ephesians. (34:37) And I think it’s important for us to take a look at the Ephesian letter before we get into the Roman letter. (34:46) It’s not going to be very deep.

(34:49) In Ephesians, the first chapter, he talks about God’s plan when He was creating the world, (35:01) and that this is the plan that must take place, and that is going to take place, (35:11) and this is the plan that Christianity is based upon, 100%. (35:18) Let’s take a look at it. (35:23) Let’s pick up with verse 3, reading from the New International Version.

(35:29) Notice now, Paul is going to be talking about, when he starts in the Roman letter, (35:33) that he has been given the privilege of preaching the gospel. (35:39) Whose gospel? God’s. (35:46) God’s gospel.

Not Jesus' gospel. (35:49) It’s God’s gospel, based around Jesus. (35:54) God is the one who is presenting us with the good news.

(35:58) God is the one who is going to be presenting us with righteousness. (36:02) And that’s what Paul is going to be pointing out in Romans, the first chapter, (36:06) is that this righteousness is what God wants to put upon mankind through grace. (36:21) It’s God’s approach to mankind.

(36:24) It’s God saying, hey, I’m going to provide you with righteousness, (36:29) and I’m going to provide you with that righteousness through Jesus' sacrifice. (36:35) It’s my grace. I’m working it out.

Let me do it. (36:40) So this is one of the things that Abraham had to learn, (36:46) was that it wasn’t by his works, it was by God’s work that he was blessed. (36:53) It was through God’s work that he had a son, Isaac.

(36:57) And it’s through God’s work that we have the forgiveness of our sins. (37:03) And so it’s God’s plan that is being played out. (37:08) And so this is what we must always remember.

(37:12) So he says, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (37:17) who has blessed us in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (37:23) So that’s God’s work, isn’t it? (37:26) God is doing this. (37:28) For He, who is He? (37:31) He hasn’t changed the subject.

He’s still talking about God. (37:35) For God chose us in Him before the creation of the world. (37:40) Who is Him? Obviously it’s Jesus.

(37:44) God chose us in Jesus before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, (37:52) who’s His? God’s sight. (37:55) So He chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. (38:04) In love, whose love? God’s love.

(38:09) In love, God predestined us for the adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ (38:16) in accordance with God’s pleasure and will. (38:21) Through the praise of God’s glorious grace, (38:26) which He has freely given to us in the one He loves. (38:31) Who’s the one He loves? Jesus.

(38:35) In Him, we have redemption through His blood. (38:40) So we’re still looking at Jesus. (38:43) In Jesus, we have redemption through His blood, (38:46) the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

(38:53) Whose grace? It’s God working it out. (38:57) It’s His plan that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (39:04) He made known to us the mystery of His will.

(39:08) Who did? God made known to us the mystery of His will, God’s will, (39:14) according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, (39:20) to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, (39:25) to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (39:35) In Him, this is Jesus, we were also chosen, (39:39) having been predestined according to the plan of God, (39:43) who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. (39:49) In order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, (39:56) might be the praise of His glory.

(39:59) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, (40:04) the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were marked in Him (40:09) with a seal, a promised Holy Spirit, (40:14) who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (40:18) until the redemption of those who are God’s possession (40:22) to the praise of His glory, God’s glory. (40:28) So, we need to glorify God. (40:32) And this is the whole thing.

(40:33) Paul wants us to recognize the fact that God wants to be glorified. (40:39) And how do we glorify God? (40:43) By doing His will. (40:45) By living a life that is reflecting God.

(40:52) What you just did shows the worth of taking the time to resolve the pronouns. (41:04) Right. (41:05) Paul uses a lot of pronouns.

(41:08) He sure does. He sure does. (41:11) It’s a valuable exercise to resolve all that.

(41:16) Because that was life for you. (41:20) Right. (41:22) And so, you know, I stand amazed at how many people do not know how to read.

(41:30) They don’t know how to read. (41:32) I perceived that even when I was five years old, sitting in a Bible class, (41:38) listening to my Bible teacher reading the Scriptures, (41:41) and I’d say, you don’t know how to read. (41:45) You’ve got to know how to read.

(41:48) Your punctuations, you’ve got to know what the punctuations are. (41:51) You’ve got to know that you don’t change subjects, (41:53) and who’s the subject, and so on. (41:59) You’ve got to know how to read.

(42:00) So, this is an important thing to carry into the Scriptures. (42:05) We’ve got to understand those things. (42:08) Our time is up.

(42:09) I appreciate so much your attention, and we will get into Romans.